Mudbloods and Slytherin Snobs
by SortingHat007
Summary: Lianne's insecurities keep getting in her way, until she gets accepted into Hogwarts 19 years after Voldemort's demise. Making new friends is easy, but can she stop the insidious plot of an avaricious professor? *I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does
1. Dorky Old Janet

_A/N: This story takes place 19 years after the demise of Lord Voldemort. I know it sounds like a Sparklypoo Mary-Sue at first, but if you make it through the first half of the page, you will be handsomely rewarded (with a non-__Sparklypoo__-type fanfic). I also apologize for the "transfer-student-from-America" deal, but I know American culture a lot better than British culture, so it's easier. Please read!_

I put my gorgeous brunette hair into a ponytail, watching as my shimmering curls cascaded down my neck. My tanned skin was flawless and my deep blue eyes were entrancing. A touch of ruby gloss adorned my lip and sapphires the same color as my eyes dangled from my earlobes. I was only eleven, but my mother assured me I was mature enough for makeup. I spun around in my beautiful blue designer dress made especially for me, waiting for my perfectly cute, perfectly romantic date Josh to pick me up.

"Why, Lianne," Stacey had gushed when she invited me last week. Stacey is my fellow co-captain of the cheerleading squad, and one of the most popular girls in school—second only to me. "It wouldn't be a party without you!"

"Oh, don't worry, Stacey," I reassured her in my sophisticated British accent, "I'll be there."

Everything was going great. I had gone to Hawaii and Switzerland over the summer, and my mother let me go on a huge shopping spree celebrate the end of the summer. I practically cleaned out Juicy Couture. I went to cheer camp and got elected "Cheer Camp Queen". And now, Stacey's Back-to-School Dance was going to go amazingly. I grabbed my best Coach bag and walked out the door.

Now, in the name of being accurate, I must clarify one tiny detail: everything you've just read is a lie. This is how my evening really went.

I tried to force my dull mousey brown hair into a ponytail, but my anti-frizz serum didn't help at all, and it kept flying out in all different directions. I finally gave up and let it hang down like the wig made for some Hollywood monster. I scrutinized my too-pale face, cursing the humongous zit that had popped up right between my two boring blue eyes. I put on the blue dress my mother bought just for the occasion—at the Bargain Barn. I put a bandana—most dorky of all hair accessories—as a headband, to try to cover my zit and help tame my hair. I looked like a joke. Stacey would be thrilled.

"Why, of course you're invited, Janet"—of course, Lianne is just my middle name, as much as I wish it were my real one instead of dorky Janet—"It wouldn't be a party without someone to mock, now would it? Please do come, that is, unless you're busy _skateboarding_. Or need to practice your _magic tricks_!" She burst into laughter, and walked away. As one can see, I'm hardly on the cheerleading squad in real life, no I am the epitome of dork; I used to skateboard and do magic tricks, back before I cared about what other people thought. I also didn't go to cheer camp over the summer, either. No, all I did was get horribly sunburned and gaze longingly at all the clothes I couldn't afford.

"Don't worry, Stacey," I said meekly, in my boring American accent. Even though I was born in England, my dad had us move here to the United States when I was a year old so he could join the American army like his father, who actually was born in America. We moved around a lot, finally settling down in New Jersey when a muscular disease finished my father's military career.

I sighed at plain old Janet in the mirror, longing to one day wake up and be Lianne, and have all my dreams come true. Janet was a dork, picked on by all and befriended by none. She wasn't pretty, popular, or charismatic, but Lianne could be everything I ever wanted to be. Lianne could be brave, and beautiful, and confident. Lianne could be the coolest person ever, just as much as Janet was the dorkiest. I sighed, and grabbed my secondhand purse that must have belonged to a teething two-year-old and walked out the door.

-----

I sat in the bathroom, trying not to cry anymore as I waited for Mom to pick me up. Of course Stacey noticed my huge zit, my frizz monster hair, and my bargain-brand dress. "Wow, Janet, what happened to you?" she asked, in mock concern, "Have your parents gotten so poor that they're using your hair for steel wool? That would explain why they made your dress out of a dish towel. And is that a tomato on your face? Because that's the biggest tomato I've ever seen." She laughed before turning around to make out with her boyfriend Josh. Everyone in her clique laughed at me, mocking me.

Stacey stopped kissing Josh and turned to me. "Oh, I'm sorry, Janet. I'm being a bad host. Do you want some dip?" She took the bowl and dumped it over my head. "Oops!" she cried, "I'm so sorry, Janet! Is there anything I can do for you? Here, tell you what. I'll give you a few dollars, so you can replace that dress and buy yourself a better house with the change!" She and friends convulsed into laughter, as I burst into tears and ran to some privacy.

I could feel the anger pulsing through my veins as I sat there, listening to everyone having fun. Stacey had made fun of me ever since first grade. I mean, she was pretty, rich, and already had a lot of friends. I was just the poor little new kid with a scholarship and no friends. I was an easy target. I tried to stand up for myself, but it got harder and harder until she could pick on me without any resistance at all. For the millionth time that night I wished I could be someone else, anyone other that me.

"Oh, I just wish this party was over!" I muttered to myself. It felt like I was a can of soda, being shaken up until I was about to explode. Suddenly the lights went out. I bolted upright. Moans of disappointment reached my ears. I looked in the party room to see people leaving. Something fell on the floor beside me. More blobs of dip joined it as they leapt out of my hair and off of my dress, leaving me spotless. I stared in amazement, but was distracted by a loud voice.

"Don't go!" Stacey cried desperately, trying to stop the onslaught of people headed for the door. "We'll fix the lights! Don't go, please!" In minutes, everyone had left. I thought that the only thing that would make this perfect would be if Stacey got a stain on her perfect white dress. No sooner had I this crossed my mind then the punch bowl just upended itself on her, staining the white silk red. I laughed out loud and smiled at this turn of events as I ran to my mom's car.

I was much less upbeat about the circumstances by the time I got my seatbelt buckled. I stared out the window at a cat sitting by the sidewalk, thinking about what had happened. I mean, it was conceivable that the lights blacking out just when I wanted them too was a coincidence, and perhaps Stacey accidentally bumped into the table causing the punch bowl to spill, and it was possible that something in my anti-frizz serum caused the dip to simply slide off. However, it wasn't very likely, and I had trouble convincing myself of this reasoning. I was reminded of the time when I was six years old, when I was sure that I had pulled a rabbit out of my hat for real. As I grew older, I was positive it had been my imagination, but now I wasn't quite so convinced. Something unusual seemed to be going on, and I was in the heart of the matter.


	2. The Crazy Cat Lady

As our beat-up Volkswagen turned into the driveway, my mother looked up at the unlit streetlamps. "That's odd," she commented, "I didn't think the blackout would reach this far away."

As she unlocked the door, my father's voice carried through the hallway. "Honey," he said, "There's someone here to see our daughter…" He sounded confused, unsure of something.

I walked into the den, about as sure of what was happening as my father was. Sitting in on the sofa in as dignified a manner as possible, was an old woman in an emerald cloak and pointed hat. Spectacles were perched on her nose, and her face lacked any sign of emotion. I wondered if she was a representative of my school, coming to tell me that I wouldn't qualify for any financial aid at the prestigious private school that I currently had a scholarship for. But the school board usually wore suits, not clothes that looked like they might have been in style centuries ago.

"Hello, Miss Everett," the woman said, with a distinct British accent, "I'm sure you will be pleased to know that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts." I was sure that my hearing was messed up due to shock.

"Um, hello," I stuttered, "I am Janet, um, did you say _witchcraft_?" She nodded. "Okay. You're serious?" She nodded again. This lady was obviously insane. Either that or I was hallucinating "Yeah," I said, trying to think of the best way to get rid of this crazy woman. "Uh…Prove it." I didn't think she'd be able to.

"Very well," she said, and promptly turned into a cat. My eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped. Before my very eyes the cat turned into an old lady again. Then she swished a stick she was carrying in her pocket and I was floating in midair. I struggled to get back on the ground. The woman pointed the stick and I was carried in that direction. I tried to reach the ground, but I was merely able to flail around in the air. I tried to come up with a logical explanation. I couldn't find any, and by the time she put me down, I was convinced.

"So, witchcraft, is it?" I asked, thankful to be on solid ground again, "And a _school_ for witchcraft? You want _me_ to learn _magic_?"

She nodded. "Your name has been on the list of applicants for the school since your birth. As headmistress, I formally invite you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain. Of course, if you'd prefer going to one of the schools of magic in America I can hardly stop you." She handed me a blank sheet of paper. Words wrote themselves in emerald ink.

"Dear Ms. Everett, you have been invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" I read aloud. "This is for real?" I asked, hardly daring to believe it. I mean, I was always attracted to the idea of magic, but to do it in reality was beyond remarkable. Somehow, I wasn't too skeptical about the whole idea of magic. It was like, deep down, I had always known magic was real, and I finally had proof about it. But what would happen if I wasn't any good at it? I remembered what happened at the party, which was too convenient to be a coincidence. Maybe I would be good at magic, after all. "Mom, Dad, can I go? Please?"

My parents had sat on the couch staring at the conservation with a mixture of shock and horror. "I don't know, honey. Britain is very far…and magic seems…" my mother tried to protest, but the look that Mrs. McGonagall gave her was enough to silence any complaints.

My father, always practical, said, "We don't have the money to send her to boarding school."

"Hogwarts will pay for everything, I assure you," she answered without missing a beat.

Mom looked at Dad. "Oh…All right," Mom sighed, defeated. Mrs. McGonagall had an air of authority about her, one that did not allow any argument from anyone, even my parents.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shouted, throwing myself into my parents' arms. Mrs. McGonagall, meanwhile, threw something on the fire and disappeared.

-----

A week later a man in a long cloak emerged from the fireplace. "Hello," he told my father, who was in the middle of watching a football game, "I am Professor Aurelian. I am here to take your daughter to Diagon Alley to pick up her school supplies."

"Of course," my father said, still not used to people in robes arriving at our house via fireplace, "Where is this…um…Diagonally place?"

"It's in Britain," Professor Aurelian replied, "You see, they don't sell the proper spellbooks in America, and the apothecaries use different sets of ingredients entirely. And dragon-skin gloves have been banned in America by the Endangered Species Act of Ninety-Two. McGonagall thought it would be easier to just pick everything up in Diagon Alley, so…"

I could tell that the only part of that my dad actually understood was "Britain". "So," he said cautiously, "You'll be flying there? Now?"

"Oh, heavens no!" Professor Aurelian exclaimed. My dad breathed a sigh of relief. "Have you ever tried to ride a broomstick over the Atlantic? Impossible! No, we'll be taking the Floo Network—through the fireplace, that is." My dad looked frightened again. "Here you go, young lady," he said to me, "Now, step into the fireplace, throw some of this onto it-" She handed me some powdery stuff. "-and say 'Diagon Alley'. Remember to enunciate!"

I stepped into the fireplace, threw down the powder, tried desperately not to cough. "Diagon Alley!" I yelled. Everything seemed to explode in green flames. Then it stopped. I rubbed my eyes free of soot and found myself in a kitchen. I walked out of the fireplace just as it burst into flames again and Professor Aurelian stepped out.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron," he explained, "It leads to Diagon Alley." I nodded. We walked into a back room, where he tapped on the wall a brick a few times, and an entryway appeared.

"Whoa!" If I had any doubts about the existence of magic, they were gone now. There were broomsticks, and owls, and wands, and cauldrons…the whole scene was overwhelming.

"Here's your money." The professor handed me a sack. "The Galleons are the gold ones, Sickles are silver, and Knuts are bronze."

"Um, professor, this bag is empty," I told him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. He laughed nervously. "I, er, put them in my pocket for…safekeeping." He pulled a great deal of coins from his pocket.

"Uh-huh." After a little while of awkward silence, I asked, "So…what class do you teach?"

"Transfiguration," he told me, "You know, changing one thing to another."

"I know what Transfiguration means," I informed him, "People tell me I have an excellent vocabulary."

"Well, let's see…let's pick up your Potions items first." He walked into the first store on the street.

-----

Shopping for supplies was hectic, and when we were done, I just wanted to take a nap. I had to buy a set of robes, a cloak, a hat, a cauldron, scales, potions ingredients, a telescope, dragon-skin gloves, phials, a mountain of textbooks, and a wand, among other assorted items. I liked my wand the best of everything I got. It was "mahogany, ten inches, with a phoenix tail-feather, springy" to quote Mr. Ollivander. That was pretty much all he said, actually, except for some mumbo-jumbo about "the wand chooses the wizard". At first I thought he was some kind of Zen monk, but when I held it, it seemed kind of different than the other wands. Almost like a friend.

At the end of the day, I even had a little money left over that Professor Aurelian tried to gamble away from me. I didn't really trust that guy, but if Mrs. McGonagall trusted him, then he must have been all right.

-----

It was 3:30 in the morning, on the day that Mrs. McGonagall—_Professor_ McGonagall, I reminded myself—came to pick me up for Hogwarts. I hadn't gotten any sleep all night. I was just so excited…and a little nervous. I was leaving for a school an ocean away, where I'd be expected to learn a whole new curriculum of magic and spell casting, a school where nobody knew who I was…a school where nobody knew who I was. A grin spread across my face. Nobody knew me there; no one knew my name, my past, or my life. I could make a new me at Hogwarts, have a fresh start. I wouldn't be dorky Janet at this new school. I'd be Lianne. I'd be pretty, charismatic, and popular. I smiled at the prospect of my new life, then yawned and went to sleep.

-----

It was time to go to Hogwarts. Mom and Dad had already said goodbye; they were at work now, probably worried sick about me leaving for England. I had managed to put my hair into a ponytail that looked passable, if not particularly neat. I wore my best outfit and had been scrubbing at my zit all morning, and I'm sure I managed to make it a little bit smaller. I was ready to become glamorous Lianne once and for all.

I stared intently at the fireplace, counting the seconds as I waited. Suddenly it flared up with deep green fire. Professor McGonagall stepped out. "Come along, Ms. Everett," she said without any ado, "Now, you already know how to Floo." She handed me some Floo powder. "To get to the Hogwarts Express, say 'King's Cross'. Then simply go to Platform Nine and Three Quarters—that's right between Platforms Nine and Ten—and go through the barrier to reach the Hogwarts Express. Have you got all that?" I nodded.

I stepped into the fireplace, and tried not to spill powder all over my good outfit. "King's Cross!" I cried as I threw the powder down in a cloud of smoke. The world disappeared behind an emerald blaze. I emerged to find myself in a train station's ticket booth. My bags followed in another flash of green. I looked outside at the King's Cross station. I grabbed my bags, shoved them in a cart, then ran out hurriedly, heading to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. I did not want to miss that train, and though her instructions seemed cryptic, I was sure that Professor McGonagall knew what she was doing.

I was less sure of this when I found nothing between Platforms Nine and Ten except a wall. I looked around to see if maybe it were somewhere I hadn't looked. It wasn't "This stinks," I said through gritted teeth as I shoved my cart into the wall in a rage. But instead of slamming against the bricks, it passed right through like the wall was made of water. I walked up cautiously and touched a finger to it. Sure enough, it slipped through the wall. I walked through the wall with confidence, collected my cart, and boarded the train.


	3. Friendship on the Hogwarts Express

"So much for my fresh start," I muttered to myself. I walked down the corridor trying to find an empty compartment. I finally found one and slumped down into the seat. I wanted to cry. I had arrived triumphantly onto the Hogwarts Express and stared out at the vivid English cityscape as the train slowly pulled out of the station. The hallways were full of compartments, filled with laughter from various cliques. All I had to do was pick a group and introduce myself, and everything would be perfect. I'd be instantly popular. Of course, the reality wasn't as perfect as my dream. I managed to steps toward a compartment before my confidence crumbled. Maybe I was doomed to forever remain shy old Janet. I stayed there in silence staring out the window until I heard a squabble in the hallways.

"Come on, Kath! We haven't got all day!" the voice of a girl rang through the halls.

"But, Jen, I want to see him!" a second girl, decidedly younger, complained loudly.

"I _told_ you, Kath, he won't want you bothering him!" A girl, maybe twelve or thirteen with a long dark brown braid walked into my compartment, dragging the yelling girl, who looked like she might be the first girl's younger sister, behind her. "Do you mind if we stay here? Kath here has to get her mind off of James Potter. I'm Jenna, by the way." I blinked, unsure of what to say.

"I don't see why I'd even want to get my mind off him!" her sister, Kath, retorted, completely ignoring me, "James Potter is so dreamy. Plus, his dad's famous, so he's like a celebrity!"

"Who's dad? How is he famous?" I asked, confused.

"Are you daft? How do you not know?" Kath was astounded. "Have you been in England at all before? You accent is kind of different."

I shook my head. "I'm from America. My name's Lianne. How is his, um, James', dad famous?"

Jenna was the one who answered me. "Over nineteen years ago, there was this dark wizard, called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-"

"Why was he called that?" That name was downright ridiculous.

"He was so feared no one wanted to say his name. Nobody likes to anymore, anyways. It brings back bad memories. So, anyways, You-Know-Who, which was another name for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was a cold-blooded killer. No one survived an attack from him, until he tried to kill Harry Potter. It didn't work, and You-Know-Who was almost destroyed. Harry became famous, and came to Hogwarts to learn magic. He and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, faced You-Know-Who many times, finally killing him when they were seventeen. James is Harry's oldest son. His brother Albus is a first-year this term. I believe that Rose Weasley is a first-year, too."

"They'll probably be in Gryffindor," Kath added Harry, Ron, and Hermione all were. That's why everybody wants to be in Gryffindor. I hope I am. Do you, Lianne?"

I shrugged. Professor McGonagall mentioned the students being sorted into four Houses, but I really didn't care what house I was in.

"I'm in Ravenclaw," Jenna put in, "I hope Kath follows in the family footsteps and gets sorted there, but there's really no chance of that. After all, Ravenclaw is for the _wise_." She glared at her sister.

Kath rolled her eyes. "Like I'd even want to be in Ravenclaw. I'm going to be in Gryffindor. Or Hufflepuff. Really, I'm fine as long as I'm not in Slytherin."

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" I asked.

"That's the house that all of You-Know-Who's followers were in." Kath shrugged. "You'd have to be evil to be in Slytherin."

Jenna interrupted. "That's not true, Kath. Remember, Severus Snape came from Slytherin, and he was one of Dumbledore's most trusted allies. They aren't really all that evil in Slytherin," she explained to me, "but they are snobs. If you're a half-blood, like us, they see you as inferior. If you're Muggle-born, meaning your parents didn't have any magic, they'll despise you."

"Oh," I said, "Guess I'm in trouble then."

"_Oh, guess I'm in trouble then_," a voice mocked from the hall. A tall, blond girl wearing a green designer outfit and followed by a clique of giggling girls was standing in the doorway. She seemed so much like Stacey, the pretty, fashionable girl who was worshiped by all. I realized that, maybe if I made friends with her, I'd have a chance at being popular.

"Oh my god, who let the _Mudblood_ on the train?" she asked, wrinkling her nose and pointing at me. My spirits fell. I would be as popular here as I was in my old school. Which was to say, completely and utterly friendless. "Hello, Jenna," she sneered, "Heard your father lost his job. I guess they realized just what an embarrassment he is." Jenna looked down, ashamed. Even Kath, who was so full of energy and spirit a minute ago, seemed cowed by that comment. "So, Mudblood, how did you get into Hogwarts? I guess you can get into a school by being completely pathetic."

"That explains how _you_ got in," I muttered, louder than I meant to. I only meant it to console myself, like I did when Stacey first began to bully me, but everyone heard anyways. Jenna and Kath stared at me, shocked. The girl looked flustered, then angry.

"Wait till we get to Hogwarts, Mudblood. Then we'll see who really belongs." She turned and strutted away, her clique following behind. One of the girls, with long, white-blond hair, paused for a moment. "Get over, here, Maura!" the leader of the clique cried, and the blonde girl ran after her.

As soon as they left, Kath and Jenna burst into laughter. "Lianne, you are _so_ cool!" Kath shrieked. I blinked, surprised. I hadn't expected this

Jenna also gushed with admiration, "I've never seen anyone stand up to Lorna Zabini before! She's one of those Slytherin snobs. Everyone's terrified of her. She's in my year, so I have to put up with her in Double Herbology class. You should her the way she prattles" She adopted a prissy manner. "My family is of the _purest_ blood, leading back to the days of Salazar Slytherin himself. I am so much better than all of _you_ filth, so you must treat me with respect." She resumed her normal voice. "She's very rich, on account of her grandmother. She was married to nine different wealthy husbands, who all died in mysterious circumstances. You should steer clear of her."

"Lia, you've got to promise to stay my friend, even if we get sorted into different houses, okay?" Kath giggled, "You are so amazing."

"Sure," I said, flattered. These girls weren't popular, or rich, or anything I ever fantasized myself as being. But their praise gave me a wonderful feeling inside. It made me feel strong. It made me feel like I really was Lianne, confident and self-assured. "I promise," I told her with a smile.

-----

After many hours, hours which I spent trying to catch up on my sleep, the train slowed to a halt. "Oh!" Kath cried, "This is it! We're going to be sorted now! Oh, Jenna, please! I'm dying to know! How do they sort us first years? Please!"

Jenna only smiled and said, in a deep and sinister voice, "It is a fearsome challenge indeed." She stood up and strode off of the train to where most of the students were, over by some horseless carriages. She waved good-bye to Kath and me. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" an impossibly large man called out, standing by the lake.

"That's Rubeus Hagrid," Kath whispered in my ear, "He's part giant, but I hear he's really nice. He worked here when Harry Potter went to school."

"Four to a boat, now, firs' years!" Hagrid shouted. Kath and I climbed into a boat quickly, trying not to tip it over. I turned around to see an argument between some of the girls in Lorna's clique.

"There's no more room, Maura!" one girl laughed, "go find somewhere else to sit!" The blonde girl, Maura, I assumed, stood on the shore dejectedly. The only boat with any room left was ours, but she refused to get in.

"What's the hold-up?" Hagrid bellowed, "You there, get to yer boat!" Maura looked at him in fear, then slowly climbed in our boat.

"Mudblood," she muttered with sheer loathing, trying not to look at me.

Dorky old Janet would have collapsed into tears at that comment, but the new Lianne wasn't going to stand for that. "Snob," I replied coolly, reveling in my bravado. Kath giggled softly. Maura gave me a look of pure hate, then turned away, trying to ignore the laughter of her friends.

-----

When we disembarked, Hagrid led us to the Great Hall. I looked around to hear murmurs of nervousness from my classmates. "This is where yer to be sorted inter one o' the four Houses," Hagrid told us, "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Good luck to yer!" He departed, leaving us with pale faces and heavy hearts.

"Jenna said it was a frightening task," Kath said nervously, "But it's not like we have to fight a troll, right?"

Overhearing this comment, one girl murmured to her friends, looking nervous, "I hear we have to fight a troll now!"

"Do we really?" one of her friends squealed, "Oh, god! I can't fight a troll!"

"Don't be an idiot, Candace," a boy close by drawled, "We're going to have to fight a giant spider. Don't you just _love_ spiders, Candace?" Candace let out a frightened yelp. As the rumor circulated, I could hear many different sorts of fearsome foes: the giant squid, boggarts, dementors, and more. I didn't know what most of them were, but they sounded gruesome indeed.

I fingered my wand out of fear, grateful for its comforting touch. "We don't really have to fight a troll," Kath said, more to herself than me, "It was just a joke."

"Good luck," I whispered to Kath, frightened out of my wits.

"You too," she answered, looking very nervous and trembling.

We entered the Great Hall and sat on a long bench, waiting for the Sorting to begin. The first thing I noticed was that everyone in the Hall was staring intently at a hat. It was tattered, beaten, and had a tear across the brim. I looked around, wondering if the monster was hiding somewhere, but there was nothing else. I was expecting something a bit more grand and macabre, so I was disappointed when the tear opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself, "That's our fearsome challenge?" I rested my head on my hand, trying to listen. However, I was tired. Due to the whole time zone difference, I had been awake for about the past twenty hours, and I had gotten no sleep at all the night before, so all I wanted right now was a nap. I tried to stay awake, but it wasn't easy

The hat sang loudly, with a practiced voice. "It was many hundred years ago/When Hogwarts was first founded/To sort the students was a need/Bold Gryffindor expounded…" It was at this point that I slipped into a light sleep. It seemed a split second later that I was jarred awake by the closing verse, "Although I do my duty well/My job is to divide!/Before I sort you into four/In you I must confide!/Before you go your separate ways/And never speak in all your days!/I ask you this, and please comply/Join as one and unify!" It was a cryptic way to end a song, but the entire audience erupted into cheers nonetheless.

A man near the large table read names from a list, holding up the hat. "Anderson!" A boy with curly brown hair stepped forward. I wondered whether the hat was just there for the opening song, or whether it was supposed to help with the Sorting somehow. The boy sat down anxiously on the stool that was placed there. The man placed the hat on his head.

Nothing happened for a second, then the hat cried out, "RAVENCLAW!" The boy climbed down from the stool and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, which was cheering loudly.

I watched as two of Lorna's entourage got assigned to Slytherin, and then it was my turn. I suddenly realized how this was frightening. Knees threatening to give out, I sat down in the stool. Whether I was sitting there for moments, or minutes, I didn't know, but it felt like years. I had the sensation of my innermost thoughts and feelings being probed. I just wanted it over as soon as possible. Finally, the hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" Kath gave me a thumbs-up as I walked to the Gryffindor table. My part in the sorting over, I stared all around me at the grandness of Hogwarts.

Soon, though, my attention was attracted when "Greengrass!" was called out, and the girl from the boat, Maura, walked up to the hat. She sat down and was instantly sorted into Slytherin.

"Figures," I muttered, then slipped into another daze.

I was awoken soon after by tremendous cheering right in my ear. Albus Potter had just been sorted into Gryffindor. The noise was deafening. However, I wanted to be fully awake to see where Kath got sorted. I knew it couldn't be much longer before Kath's turn. Rose Weasley, whom Jenna had told me about on the train, was sorted into Gryffindor to more applause, and then "Wright!" was called out.

Kath practically ran to the stool, a huge smile. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled. Hufflepuff house cheered as Kath sat down. She smiled, though she seemed a little disappointed. She cast a fleeting glance at someone at the Gryffindor table, probably her darling James, then turned to me.

"Sorry," I mouthed, knowing how much she had wanted to be in Gryffindor.


	4. First Day of School Blues

_A/N-__I'm__ sorry it took so long to update; I've been really busy lately.__ I would like to make the following announcement: I will always post a new chapter within a week of posting the current one. I will let my readers know if I am delayed in meeting this deadline. This is a guarantee._

Hogwarts was a lot different than my old school. I mean, I was so glad to never have to do math homework again, but getting adjusted to life with magic was difficult. As I unpacked my bags in my dormitory room, I found that wizards and witches depended on magic as much as we Muggles depended on science. There were little globes called Remembralls that turned scarlet when you forgot things, little tops called Sneakoscopes that made lots of noise if somebody tried something sneaky, and I saw Candace, who was in the bed next to mine, putting up a picture of somebody named Oliver Wood that moved, riding around on a broomstick and waving at people.

I was worried about having trouble falling asleep, but I was horribly tired, and I fell asleep as soon as I climbed into bed. By the time I awoke, the sun was streaming in through the window, and everyone else was almost ready for class. "Aw, man!" I cried, "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"You looked so peaceful," Candace giggled, "We didn't want to disturb you!"

I groaned. I threw on some clothes, put on my robes, grabbed my book-bag and wand, and ran after my roommates, yelling, "Wait for me!"

I ate breakfast nervously, taking only nibbles. Frightening thoughts flashed through my head. I mean, what if I was no good at magic? What if they sent me home because I couldn't do any spells? The time flew by, and before I knew it, I was off to class.

-----

Charms was taught by Professor Flitwick, a rather short, bearded man. He began by explaining a little bit about charms, which I tried to record onto some parchment. However, the parchment was somewhat rough, and I couldn't figure out how to hold the quill. The end result was that my parchment was a mess and so were my fingers. I gave up and simply listened. The professor then introduced our first spell. "This is the Levitation Spell. You do a swish and flick. Like this. Swish and flick! Swish and flick!" We repeated his wand motions. I scratched an awkward diagram with my quill, scrawling the incantation beside it. Professor Flitwick then asked us to try it ourselves with the feathers on our desks.

"Wing…ar…dee…um…Le…vee…oh…sah," I chanted, waving my wand over my feather. Nothing happened. "Win…gahr…dee…yum…Lev…ee…oh…suh," I tried, moving my wand around in circles. It seemed that everyone else was doing better than me. Maybe it was my accent throwing me off.

"It's a swish and flick," a voice next to me said. I turned, and remembered I was sitting next to the famed Rose Weasley. Rose, who was very talented with spells and magic, had already levitated her feather, and was trying to pass the time until class ended. "It's a swish and flick," she told me, trying to help. "And the emphasis is on the 'gar' not the 'wing'."

"Thanks," I said, "Yeah, your mom was, like, really good at this stuff, wasn't she?"

"Well, yes." Rose blushed. "She was top of all her classes, well, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry Potter was top at that."

"Oh yeah, well, he'd have to be good at that to beat You-Know-Who."

"Voldemort? Yes."

"Who's Voldemort?" I asked. I was talking about Harry Potter, not 'Voldemort'.

"You-Know-Who. Most people don't like to say his name, but my mum tells me that I ought not to be scared of a name, especially since he's dead," Rose explained.

"Oh," I said, understanding, "Well, yeah, Harry would have to be good at defensive magic."

"Yes, he is very skilled at it. He's an Auror now. Did you know he also speaks Parseltongue?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"He can talk to snakes," she answered. "Albus can even speak a little of it.

I shuddered. "I hate snakes. That's beyond creepy, talking to snakes."

"Oh." Rose remained silent for the rest of the class. It wasn't until she hurried off to meet Albus that I realized how offensive I'd been. But, of course, it was too late to tell her I was sorry.

-----

Next was Potions class, which we had to take with the Slytherins. It was taught by a portly old man named Slughorn. "Ah! Hello, Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley!" Professor Slughorn greeted Albus and Rose warmly, "I'm having a little get-together later tonight, to help all the students get to know one another. I would love for you to be able to make it! Oh, and Ms. Greengrass, I'd love for you too to be able to come as well. I've heard of your father's recent promotion, and I must say, I'd love to learn more about it." He handed the three of them embossed invitations. He paid no attention to the rest of the students and walked to the front of the room.

Maura was flaunting her invitation to her friends, who all seemed envious. "What is that?" I asked her, wondering why the professor had only invited them to the get together for 'all the students'.

"_This_," she informed me, "is opportunity. This is something you can't get without a _proper_ bloodline, Mudblood." She smirked and walked towards her friends.

Her boasting was cut short by Slughorn's announcement. "In the interest of inter-House unity, I will assign each of you a partner of the opposite House. You will work together throughout the course of the year." He ignored the murmurs of outrage from the class. I agreed with them, after all, I didn't want to be paired with some snooty Slytherin. I cringed when I found out my partner. "Ms. Everett and Ms. Greengrass, please sit here." Maura's friends snickered as her mouth hung open in shock. Maura flushed red and glared at me, like it was my fault she was stuck with me for a partner.

"Mudblood," she muttered at me with loathing.

"Slytherin Snob," I replied, full of equal hate.

-----

Then I had the only class that was taught by an actual ghost. Professor Binns, apparently, had just walked right out of his body one day and continued teaching. However, that made the class no more interesting. The History of Magic class was so boring that a truckload of lit fireworks would not make it remotely exciting. I gave up trying to actually take notes after five minutes and simply tried not to fall asleep.

Finally, after an eternity of pinching myself raw to stay awake, class was over. "Ms. Evans!" Professor Binns called after me, "Ms. Evans!" I frowned, and looked around. He appeared to be talking to me.

"Um, Professor, my name is _Everett_, not Evans," I told him.

"I expect great things from you, Ms. Evans," he replied, ignoring my comment, "You are my most promising student."

"Um, thanks," I told him, then left for my next class in a hurry.

-----

"So you want to learn to defend yourselves against all those barmy Dark wizards, eh?" Professor Macmillan announced to the class, "Well, lucky for you lags, Hogwarts is one of the best schools for learning defensive magic. After a few years, even the most complex of defensive spells will be a bit of old hat!" I looked around, wondering if I were the only one who didn't understand a word he was saying. "It may seem like this class moves quickly, but after the Battle of Hogwarts against that blasted You-Know-Who, we all realized how necessary all these defensive spells were, eh? Now, we will begin with the Disarming Charm. Watch this!" He turned to a straw dummy holding a stick, pointed his wand, and cried, "_Expelliarmus_!" There was a flash of red light, and the dummy's stick went flying. "Now, then, pair off and try it, you lot."

I paired off with Candace, and we took turns trying the spell. "Maybe it's just me, but had no idea what he just said. Is that an American thing?" I tried the spell, to no avail.

"Well, I didn't know what he said either," she assured me, "I heard he speaks a little oddly sometimes." She attempted to Disarm me, but nothing happened to me either. "Anything?" Candace asked. I shook my head. "Not even a little tug?"

I shrugged. "Sorry. Nothing." There was a flash of red light, and a cry of triumph from Albus Potter. A little while afterwards, Rose managed to Disarm Albus. Professor Macmillan told us to practice each spell overnight, then dismissed us.

-----

I saw Professor Aurelian again in Transfiguration. "Transfiguration," he said, "is the art of changing one thing into another. A hedgehog into a pincushion, say, or an inanimate object into a living, breathing thing." He then proceeded to turn a statuette into a miniature fire-breathing dragon. The entire class gaped in awe, clamoring to begin learning Transfiguration. However, our excitement was curbed by the time he had us take notes on the spell to turn matchsticks into needles. "I'd bet anyone here a Galleon that they couldn't perform the spell correctly on the first try," he joked, but his behavior at Diagon Alley made me wonder what he'd do if anyone took him up on that offer.

Nobody managed to get the spell correct, although Rose beamed when her matchstick became skinny and silver. Professor Aurelian awarded ten points for Gryffindor for her success and told the rest of the class to practice the spell.

-----

My last class was Herbology. I walked across the grounds to the first greenhouse, wondering what exactly they taught in Herbology. It had something to do with plants, I knew, but I didn't know anything else about it.

"Lianne!" a voice cried out. Kath raced towards me from the group of Hufflepuffs. "Guess what? We've got Double Herbology together! Can I sit next to you?" she asked.

"Sure," I told her, "So how's Hufflepuff?"

"Fine," she answered airily, then sighed. "I really wish I could have been in Gryffindor," she murmured, "I wanted to meet James really bad."

I laughed. "You'll meet James eventually, I promise!" We walked into the greenhouse and sat down. Our teacher reached the front of the class.

Kath gasped. "That's Neville Longbottom!" she whispered, clutching my sleeve. His name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember why. "He defied You-Know-Who at the Battle of Hogwarts and killed Nagini, the last of the Horcruxes."

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!" I whispered back.

Kath rolled her eyes. "He's a hero, Lianne! He-" Professor Longbottom cleared his throat and Kath fell silent in admiration.

I looked at him. Then I remembered. He was the Head of Gryffindor House. He really didn't look like the heroic type, but it did seem like there was bravery in him, just beneath the surface.

He began to teach us about the general concept of Herbology: where it originated; why it was necessary; how we were to go about learning the various families of plants. I did my best to record everything he said; I could tell that this would be an interesting class to take.

When it was over and everyone started to leave, I noticed a cactus plant on his desk. "My neighbor has a plant just like that in her window," I said aloud. Professor Longbottom looked up.

"Is she a witch?" he asked me.

"I don't think so."

"Then I doubt it's the same plant," he replied, "This is _mimbulus__mimbletonia_, very similar to the common cactus plant, but very rare. I've had this plant since my fifth year."

"Wow. That's a really long time," I said, then, stuttering, "I mean, that's not what I meant by that, I mean, you're not old or-"

Professor Longbottom was laughing. "That's all right. You don't have to be afraid of me. I understand. You might want to get back to the castle now. I imagine you've a lot of work to do." I nodded, then ran back to the Gryffindor tower.

-----

I collapsed on my bed upon arrival. My legs were throbbing from running all over the grounds to get to class. I was just grateful I didn't get stuck in the vanishing step again. That would have made my legs really ache. "Why do we have _so_ much work to do?" I asked Candace, "We have an essay on the goblin wars due tomorrow, another summarizing my knowledge of potion-making, and three spells to practice for Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration! Why does the first day of school have to be so hard?" Candace shrugged. "Well," I said, looking at my watch, "I promised Kath and Jenna I'd meet them in the library soon. You want to come with?" I asked.

"No thanks," she said, "Me and some other girls are going to go watch Quidditch practice."

"Fair enough," I replied, "Hey, how are you supposed to hold the quill, anyways?"

"Here," she said me, showing me where to grip the feather.

"Oh. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks!" Candace laughed and walked out to the common room. I grabbed my quill the right way and wrote 'I am Lianne Everett' a few times. Instead of a cryptic scrawl, I ended up with close to legible script. "Well, practice makes perfect," I muttered. I pulled out some fresh parchment and worked on deciphering my many scribbles of notes.


	5. The Good, the Bad, and the Homework

_A/N-Yes, the spells are somewhat advanced, but after the epic Battle of Hogwarts, the teachers decided to make the curriculum a little more advanced._

"Hey, Jenna," I said as soon as I reached the library and found where Jenna was sitting. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," Jenna replied, "I'm sure you had a lot to do today."

"Ugh!" I groaned, "Why do we have so much homework on the first day? I mean, thank God Professor Longbottom didn't give us any."

"Professor Longbottom's great," Jenna told me, "Unlike Slughorn…"

I frowned. "What's so bad about Professor Slughorn? He seemed like an okay guy to me."

"He's all right, but he's a leech."

"I don't follow."

"Well," Jenna sighed, "He finds the students who have connections, or who are talented, and he inducts them into his 'Slug Club'. He helps them make it big, and they owe him for a while. So people like Lorna, whose parents are filthy rich, get to be the center of his attention, while people like Kath and me, whose father is the Junior Maintenance officer at the Ministry of Magic…well, he doesn't even remember our names."

"Ah," I said, "That explains a lot. Where is Kath, anyways?"

"She's watching the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice," she said, then, when I gave her a confused look, "She's hoping to be able to talk to James."

"Ah." I looked at my scanty notes from History of Magic class, then began to write about the goblin wars.

-----

Two and half hours later, I finally finished my essay. "Oh, my hand," I moaned, clutching my right hand in agony, "Does he always ask us to write essays?"

"Always," Jenna said, rolling her eyes, "Mostly about the goblin uprising. It seems that's all he can teach anymore. Goblins, goblins, goblins. They say he's going completely senile. He's forgetting what he's supposed to teach. But it's really hard to fire a ghost, so we're stuck with him."

"Huh." I pulled out the list of spells to practice. "Hey, can you help me with these spells?" I asked, "I can't do any of them, and Expelliarmus isn't even in _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_."

"It probably isn't," she replied, "Hogwarts has a _very_ advanced curriculum. Ever since Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who, they decided that learning magic was life or death. After all, you never know when a new Dark wizard will rise and try to kill everyone." That was a sobering thought. "Better safe than sorry, you know. The spells we have to learn are incredibly advanced, especially the Defensive ones." She stood up. "Let's go outside. We'll be able to practice better there."

-----

"All right," she told me when we reached a good area, "Show me what you can do."

I put my quill on the ground in front of me. I swished my wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" The feather stirred a little, but did not rise.

"Don't forget the flick. It needs to be sharp, crisp. And keep flicking if you want it to go higher," Jenna advised me.

I nodded. I swished my wand again, chanting, "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" This time I made sure to flick. It rose a little, but didn't get more than a half a foot off the ground.

"Much better," Jenna said, "Now let's try the Disarming Charm. Imagine I'm some snooty Slytherin-"

"Maura Greengrass," I suggested.

"Right," she giggled, "I'm Maura Greengrass, and you want to knock that annoying little smirk off my face!"

I laughed. "And I'm Lorna Zabini, and I'm so perfect I'll pay someone to knock it off for me!"

Jenna burst into laughter. "All right, all right, enough! I really hate Lorna and would love to spend the day mocking her, but if we don't get this done soon we'll have no time to finish the rest of our homework."

"That's right. I still have Slughorn's summary to do. Why does he need to know how much we know about Potions anyway? Isn't it his job to teach us those things anyways?" I tried to Disarm her. Still, nothing happened.

"It's for his Slug Club. He likes to know early who will be good at magic, so he can get them on his side. Now, remember, you've got to be motivated. You've got to really want to knock my wand out of my hand," Jenna said.

I imagined Maura flaunting her dumb Slug Club invite. 'A _proper_ bloodline,' she had said. I'd show her a proper bloodline. "_Expelliarmus_!" I cried. Jenna's wand jerked suddenly.

"Good job," she told me, "You see, that's an improvement. What else did you have to learn?"

"How to turn a matchstick into a needle," I said.

Jenna winced. "Transfiguration's not my best subject. It's complicated…you'd be better off asking someone else." She turned to the castle. "Let's get inside before Filch locks us out." I followed, noticing that night seemed to come a little bit earlier at Hogwarts.

-----

I was in the common room, practicing the needle spell. I had made progress with the Levitation Spell and the Disarming Charm. I wrote a pretty decent essay for Professor Binns, I copied my summary for Slughorn from the back of my Potions textbook, but I still couldn't do more than give my match a vaguely silver sheen. Finally, at one forty-five at night, I gave up. I packed up my books and headed to my dorm.

As I stood up, I accidentally knocked my wand onto the floor, startling the occupant of the chair next to me. Rose Weasley looked up, frightened. "Oh, hey, Rose," I said, "Listen, about what I said in Charms. I really didn't mean it."

Rose seemed to relax a little, but she quickly slammed her book shut and put it down where I couldn't see. "That's all right. I'm just going up to bed now, anyways." She picked up her books in a hurry.

"What were you reading?" I asked. "No one assigned us anything to read tonight."

"Oh, you know. I'm reading some Arithmancy, actually. I know we don't start until third year, but it's just _fascinating_."

"Oh," I said, "Well, see you tomorrow!" I walked up to my dorm, trying not to wake my roommates up, and soon fell asleep.

-----

Things fell into a sort of pattern after that. I woke myself up during Charms, dreaded having to take Potions, tried not to fall asleep visibly during History, deciphered Professor Macmillan's cryptic jargon in Defense, took endless notes in Transfiguration, and finished the day enraptured by Herbology. Then I spent hours finishing my homework, slept, got up the next morning and began again. Except for the fact that we were learning how to cast spells and brew potions, it was almost exactly like my old school, repetitive and boring. Despite this, I had never been happier in my life.

-----

At the end of History of Magic, Professor Binns gave everyone back their graded essays. "Ms. Evans, a word, if you will," he called after me. I stopped and came back to talk to him.

Professor Binns looked mournful as he handed back my essay. I barely got a passing grade on it. I knew it wasn't a perfect score, but I thought I had done better than a barely passing mark. "I thought you'd do better than this, Ms. Evans. After all, you are my most promising student."

"Professor, my name is _Everett_, not Evans," I pleaded. I didn't want him to act like this every time I got a bad mark. I knew there would be many such instances. "I'm not some smart, talented student. I really think you're confusing me with someone else."

"How could I confuse you with someone else, Ms. Evans?" Professor Binns chuckled, "After all, your red hair alone makes you stand out in any crowd."

"That's what I'm talking about, Professor! My hair is brown, for Pete's sake! I'm not smart or good at history, and I can't write a good essay for my life…and…" Professor Binns looked crushed, "…and it's just that I was adjusting to Hogwarts, that's all." I didn't have the heart to tell him I would probably fail his class. "I'll do better next time, I promise." He brightened, a smile creeping across his visage. I left class and headed to the library to pick up a load of books on the goblin rebellion.

-----

We were taking notes on a Potion we'd be making that day as Professor Slughorn discussed the potency of the ingredients. "The most important ingredient in this potion is the venom of a cobra. To achieve maximum potency, it must be as fresh as possible. So," he said, unlocking a closet, "I have a live cobra here in the dungeon." He pulled out a huge black cobra, which immediately slithered up his arm. He pulled out his wand and muttered a spell. "This spell makes it completely docile, don't worry," he said, but I could barely hear him. My hand was trembling, causing my quill to create a scrawl all over my day's notes. I could feel the blood drain from my face. "If one of you could come help me extract the venom, please?"

I sat down in my seat, praying that it he wouldn't pick me. Maura noticed this, and said, "I'm sure Lianne would love to help you, Professor." My heart stopped for a second. I shot Maura a dagger glare. She smirked and whispered, "Unless you're _scared_, Mudblood." That did it. The gauntlet had been thrown. I got up and slowly walked to the front of the class, where the snake was.

A memory came to me, unbidden. I was four, and my parents had taken me to the zoo for the day. I had such a fun time, until we had gone to the reptile house. Somebody had broken the glass in the main exhibit, causing dozens of snakes to escape. Everyone ran off. I had been running as fast as my four-year-old legs would carry me, crying and screaming, when I tripped. One of the snakes slithered on top of me. It hissed, and bared its fangs. I had never been so scared in all my life. Thankfully, my mother whacked it off with a swift blow from her purse before it could bite me. But I hadn't stopped crying the entire way home.

"Ms. Everett, please." Professor Slughorn's vioce snapped me out of my reverie. "We don't have all day, you know."

"I-I'm coming, s-sir." I tried to keep from stuttering. I took a deep breath and walked to Professor Slughorn.

"Now, hold this beaker," he instructed, "and put it underneath the snake's mouth, there." I held the beaker near its mouth, quivering all over. The snake lazily turned towards me. Its head darted towards me, revealing its large fangs and letting out a fierce hiss.

I lost it. I screamed, dropping to the floor and pressing myself into the corner of the dungeon. I could feel tears flowing down my cheeks, tears of fear and of shame. The vicious laughter of Slytherins and Gryffindors alike echoed around me, cutting me like knives. I had never been so embarrassed in all my life. As soon as Slughorn locked the snake away, looking concerned, I ran off, not caring what happened to my things or how many detentions it got me. I just had to get away.

-----

My fame had spread across the school. I couldn't go two steps without somebody laughing about me behind my back. Sure, most people were really nice about it, but the mean ones were merciless, and Lorna's clique seemed to make it a goal to bring up that topic every time I was in earshot. The girls in my dorm were pretty vicious too. I stayed out of the Gryffindor Tower until the last possible minute just to avoid them.

My only solace in all this was that fact that my friends were behind me all the way. I had thought they might drop me as soon as I became a laughingstock, like most of the kids at my old school would. But then they proved me wrong.

"Look, Lianne," Jenna said to me, "You didn't back out on us when we were the ones being embarrassed. We're not going to do that to you."

Kath piped up. "It doesn't matter how much everyone else laughs at you. We still think you're cool, Lia."

I smiled. "Thanks, guys."

-----

After a few weeks, everyone forgot about what I fool I made of myself. People stopped using the incident as a topic of conversation, and I wasn't isolated from the rest of the student body. Actually, it became a source of legend to my peers, that if somebody could endure weeks of constant taunting, they were a force to be reckoned with. The only people now I had to worry about were the Slytherins. I was the main target of their vengeance now, and I needed to watch myself closely from then on out. After all, Lorna Zabini seemed the kind of person to go down without a fight.

-- ---

After a whole month of biding their time, the Slytherins finally got their revenge. Evelyn Montague thought it had been funny to add some hemlock to our cauldron by 'accident'. I suppose she also thought it had been funny when the room was filled with putrid smoke and purple sparks originating from our cauldron. She probably also thought it was funny when Professor Slughorn blamed it on Maura and I. Professor Slughorn was not pleased with our 'severe disregard for the academic atmosphere of the class'. As a punishment, we were sent to fetch a tub of bubotuber pus from Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses and take it up to the infirmary. Of course, Maura thought the whole thing was all my fault, but really, it was her friend who did it.

"Be careful," Professor Longbottom warned us, "If it gets on your skin you'll swell like a balloon." We took his advice and wore large dragon-skin gloves. Maura and I managed to carry it up six whole flights of stairs before we got tired. We rested the tub on the banister of the landing.

"This is the worst thing you've ever done," Maura told me. Her voice dripped with sheer malice.

"Hey, it was Evelyn who did it, not me," I defended, "You saw her dump it in."

She frowned. "Yes, but she wouldn't have done it if you hadn't been a Mudblood."

The dizzying anti-logic of this statement made my head hurt. "Yes, I'm so sorry I was born to a Muggle family," I said, with a great deal of sarcasm.

"You should be," she replied evenly.

I was about to lose my temper when there was a rumbling right next to us. The staircase began to move, causing the tub of pus to tip over the edge of the banister.

"No!" Maura and I shouted at the same time, reaching for the tub. But it was too late. The tub fell over and its contents fell on the incredibly old man patrolling the grounds a few floors below.

"Oh, god, it's Filch!" Maura whimpered. Filch was Hogwarts' crabby old caretaker, a man whose age unfortunately did not hinder his ability to catch troublemakers. It was amazing he was still alive, much less still at Hogwarts. Maura and I stared at each other in fright. There was no way off the floor except right past Filch, and that was a straight path to trouble. We ran nervously around the floor, whose doors seemed to all be locked, thinking of nothing but our need to get away from Filch.

I almost ran into Maura during our third time around, for she was staring at something in awe. A door had appeared in the hallway, one that hadn't been there before. It wasn't locked, and before Filch could climb up the last set of stairs, we ran inside. There was a large deadbolt, and I slid it across the door. I looked through the keyhole, and saw Filch, already swelling to vast proportions and growling with anger, leaving in a huff. I collapsed into a chair, quivering with relief. "He's gone," I told Maura. She exhaled loudly. We stared at each other for a few seconds. Then we burst out in laughter.

"Oh my god! That was hilarious! Did you see how much his skin just puffed up?" Maura asked me through giggling.

"I know! It looked even funnier up close!" I laughed. Then we remembered we were enemies, and the laughter abruptly stopped. There was an awkward silence as we considered our animosity towards each other. "Well, um, we'd better go back to get some more bubotuber pus," I said. Maura nodded, not deigning to look me in the eye. We exited the room and began our long journey back to the greenhouses.


	6. Sick as a Dog

As we entered the greenhouses to pick up more pus for Slughorn, we were startled by Filch jumping out from behind the door and yelling, "Aha!" He turned to Professor Longbottom. "Are these the criminals who asked you for that pus?" I noticed that he constantly spat while he talked, and that his teeth were crooked and yellowed.

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Yes they are, but Argus, I'm certain this is all-"

Filch cut him off. "So you two are the scum who did this." The pus must have fallen all over him when we dropped it. His skin was so puffy I wondered if it would burst. His skin was a sickly yellow color, almost as yellow as his teeth. "Well, I hope you're happy. Detention! Every day! For a month!" I wiped the spit off of my face.

"Now, Argus," Professor Longbottom said patiently, "I'm sure it was an accident. Give them a break."

"A break!" Filch shouted, "Look at me! Why should I give them a break? Detention for a month! That's final!" He stormed out in a huff.

Professor Longbottom waited until Filch was out of earshot, then began to laugh. "Good job, girls. That man has been the incarnation of evil ever since I went to Hogwarts. It's about time he got a little comeuppance."

Maura rolled her eyes and scowled at the praise, but I flushed and said, "Really, sir, it was an accident."

"A very happy one, at that." But then he stopped laughing. "But I will see what I can do about getting rid of those detentions, mind. Filch has absolutely no right to-" He walked out of the greenhouse to catch up with Filch. Maura shoved me out of the way as she headed to the castle. I sighed, and followed at a jog.

-----

I was in heaven. News of our accident spread quickly, and soon my outbreak in Potions was forgotten. I was a hero throughout Hogwarts. After all, everybody in Gryffindor hated Filch, and nobody cared whether his new look was accidental. Maura and I had also hidden from him in the fabled Room of Requirement. Wherever I went, I was compared to legendary tricksters like the Marauders and the Weasley twins constantly. Everybody wanted to sit next to me during meals. Every time my name was brought up, people spoke with admiration and awe in their voices. It was bliss. I felt absolutely and completely popular.

Of course, we still got detention every day for a month. That wasn't as fun. Filch saved all of the most disgusting chores for us to do every single night for hours and hours. Cleaning backed-up toilets, scrubbing the mold out of the dungeons, picking up the waste left behind by Hagrid's newest masterpieces, ten-foot-tall flobberworms. I swear, You-Know-Who himself couldn't have been more evil than Filch.

Maura acted like everything was perfectly normal between her and me. She shot me dagger glances in Potions, she called me Mudblood when her friends did. She dumped a bucket of slime on me one time during Filch's detention. In turn, I spilled a little manticore blood on her during

I didn't really think about how the incident affected her at all until one day after dinner I heard talking in the halls.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Maura! Will you just let this go, _please_?" That was Evelyn's voice. I hid behind a corner so they wouldn't see me.

"We wanted to get back at that little Mudblood," Lorna's voice echoed in the hallway.

"I know _that_. It's just, why did it have to get me in trouble, too?" Maura pleaded, "I mean, what did I do to you?"

"Oh, please, Maura," Lorna said, "You're acting like a wimpy blood traitor. Worse, you're acting like a little Mudblood yourself." She laughed. "That's probably it. You're just a little Mudblood who got sent to the wrong family. You're an embarrassment."

"I am not!" Maura cried.

Lorna laughed again; her clique joined in as well. "Really? Then prove it. That little Mudblood's going to pay. Are you brave enough to help us?" Another laugh.

"Of course!" Maura begged, tears in her eyes, "I'll do anything!" I rolled my eyes. Suddenly an image flashed within my mind, a memory surfaced. It was me, crying as Stacey mercilessly teased me over and over again.

I blinked. I felt queasy, guilty, even. But I wasn't like Maura. She deserved everything she got. I turned, and left.

-----

"Lianne, wake up!" Candace shook me awake. I tossed and turned, still fighting my nightmare.

I bolted upright, clutching the sheets. "What—what happened?" My roommates were all staring at me.

"You were moaning in your sleep," Candace told me, "Something like 'leave me alone' and 'I hate her so much'."

I tried to get up, but couldn't. "My head hurts," I moaned, rubbing my temples. The pain was unbearable. "My head hurts."

"Really?" Candace looked concerned, "Maybe you'd better see Madam Pomfrey."

-----

"Well, there's nothing wrong with you physically," Madam Pomprey said briskly after I reported to the infirmary. "Have you had these headaches before?"

"No."

"Maybe it's stress-related," she suggested, "Is schoolwork starting to worry you? Is anything wrong?"

"No," I said, "There's nothing wrong at all. My head just _hurts_."

"Well, you just lie down, now, and try to relax."

I nodded, curled up in the hospital bed, and took a nap full of fitful dreams.

-----

"How are you feeling, Lianne?" Kath asked me that afternoon.

"Better, I guess. Madame Pomfrey said I can go to class tomorrow, but I still feel awful."

"Well, we just want you to know, Lianne, we're here for you," Jenna said. She put a get-well card down on the table.

"Thanks, guys," I said weakly.

"Visiting hours are over!" Madame Pomfrey yelled at them. They waved good-bye and left.

I reached for the card. It was simple, saying 'Get Well Soon, Your Friends, Kath and Jenna'. I stared for a while at that last part, 'Your Friends'. I smiled, and suddenly, I felt much better.

-----

Madame Pomfrey let me out of the hospital wing early the next day. I talked with Candace as I took my morning classes. "I'm feeling better," I said to her, "I haven't felt sick all day." Everyone was happy to see me back, and the day went without incident until Potions. I felt nauseous as soon as I entered the room. I stumbled to my seat.

"I was hoping you'd stay in the hospital wing longer, Mudblood. It's been so much fun without you here to botch things up," Maura spat. I was about to retort when something threatened to force its way up my throat. I took a few deep breaths to settle my stomach. I was so glad when Potions was over. The fresh air really helped dispel the queasiness building inside my stomach.

-----

I met up with Kath and Jenna after classes. "Hey, Lia!" Kath called, "Good to see you out of the hospital wing!"

"Yeah, it's good to breathe some fresh air," I told her.

Always serious, Jenna asked if Madame Pomfrey knew what was wrong with me.

"No, but I think it's the fumes from the Potions dungeons. I took a step inside and I almost puked. No clue why." I shrugged.

"Well, I'm off to watch James practice Quidditch!" Kath cried, "Have fun _studying_." She turned the word into an insult. She then left to meet her beloved James at the Quidditch field.

"Would you rather study in the library or the courtyard?" Jenna asked.

"The library," I said, "I need some books on the goblin wars for our latest essay."

When we found an empty desk, I grabbed some volumes of history at random and began searching for anything about goblins. The only sound for a few hours was the scratching of our quills.

"So, Jenna," I asked after I had finally finished the essay, taking a deep breath, "Why don't you do well in Transfiguration? You've got the brains for it. So why don't you even try?" I knew this would be an awkward question to ask.

Jenna looked uncomfortable. "Er…fine," she said, "I guess you've a right to know. You know my father lost his job before school began, right?" I nodded. "Well, before the demotion he was a junior minister in the Ministry of Magic. He was due to be promoted soon, but then someone was caught embezzling funds."

"Who?"

"My dad." I blinked, shocked. "But he didn't really do it. Professor Aurelian set him up. He hated my dad when they went to school—something about a girl, I don't know more than that—so my dad became the scapegoat for Aurelian's theft. Of course, they didn't believe my dad when he told them he was innocent because Professor Aurelian was close friends with the minister in charge of the investigation. That's why I don't pay attention during his class. I can't stand to look at the man, much less listen to what he says."

For someone as smart as Jenna, that was ridiculously dumb. "Look, don't let your grades suffer because you hate Professor Aurelian. Then he wins twice. If you really want to spite him, do amazingly. Then tell him you get your brains from your dad's side of the family." I grinned. Then I frowned. "Embezzlement. Professor Aurelian embezzling funds," I pondered. I leaned back in my chair, entertaining the notion.

"Surprised?" Jenna asked.

"Actually, no," I told her, "He's the one who took me to Diagon Alley. It did seem like he'd do anything for a few Galleons. Like, he always tries to bet the students that they can't do the spell right on the first try, or that they don't know the incantation for a certain spell. And he's always complaining that they don't pay him enough to teach at Hogwarts."

Jenna snorted. "That's ridiculous. Hogwarts is one of the best-paying schools in Europe."

"I know. I've known greedy people before, but this takes the cake. It's really weird, how far Professor Aurelian would go for a little gold."


	7. Not Bad at All

I was having bad dreams again. I couldn't remember a thing about them, just that I would wake up in the middle of the night frightened out of my wits. There was something else about them that made me feel weird. The dreams made me feel guilty for some reason. But Jenna assured me it was definitely due to the great deal of work the teachers assigned us, so aside from a lack of sleep they caused, I didn't think they were that important.

I didn't even think about them at all until I went to the library to study a long, complex list of antidotes for Potions class. I sat down and greeted Jenna as I pulled out my worn Potions book.

It wasn't long before Kath showed up, which was remarkable. She usually spent most of her time waiting outside the portrait of the Fat Lady for James to come out. "What are you doing?" Kath asked Jenna and me as she arrived at our table in the library. She had a huge smile plastered on her face, and she was humming a little tune.

"Studying for Potions," I told her, making a face, "We have to know all of the basic antidotes by heart before tomorrow, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Kath shrieked suddenly, "That's what's so great! Okay, so these fifth years were really nice and told me that they could sell me a potion to improve my memory-"

"Kath," Jenna interrupted, "They're just pulling a prank on you. It's probably doxy droppings, like they were in that drink Leon Malone was convinced would turn his water into firewhiskey."

"Oh, yeah," I chimed in, "That was disgusting, the way his face turned purple and he started puking all over breakfast."

"I know they were trying to trick me, Jenna!" Kath said, rolling her eyes, "_But_, I did some research and found a spell in here-" She dropped a large, dusty tome on the table. "-that improves your memory."

Jenna looked at the first few pages of the book. "'_Experimental Spells for the Cautious Wizard_'?" she read aloud, "Kath, these spells aren't even proven to work properly! The first page of the book is one long disclaimer!"

"No, no, it works, really!" Kath insisted, "I used it on myself, and then I remembered that I had forgotten to go to my detention last night! Isn't that great?"

Jenna buried her face in her hands, then looked up at Kath. "You used an _experimental_ spell on yourself, an experimental spell designed to mess around in your mind, even, and you think that's _great_!" Jenna was furious. She practically screamed at Kath, "Do you want to end up in St. Mungo's, Kath? Why would you do something so incredibly stupid?" I looked around, wondering why the librarian hadn't shown up to silence us yet.

"No, no, Jenna, it works perfectly! Watch!" She pointed her wand at me. "_Cogitassi_!" Suddenly my mind was a jumbled mess. My head throbbed horribly, and I could barely think.

"Oh," I groaned, "This hurts worse than when I was sick."

"What were you thinking, Kath?" Jenna shouted.

"Don't worry, it hurts for a second, and then it goes away! It's a brilliant spell!" Kath grinned.

"Oh, my head!" I moaned, rubbing my temples.

"That's it, Kath! You've gone too far. I'm telling Mom!" I could hear Jenna's screams as if from a distance; the roaring inside my head was too much to bear.

"What? Jenna, that is so unfair!"

"I'm going to take a nap!" I declared, running to the Gryffindor Tower. I finally made it to my bed and, ignoring the pain, soon fell into blissful, painless sleep.

-----

"Lianne! Lianne!" Candace's whispers woke me from my troubled dream. "Lianne, wake up!"

"What?" I looked out the window. It was still day, probably only a few hours after I fell asleep.

"Everyone's been staring at you, Lianne. You looked like you were having a nightmare."

I looked around at the faces of my roommates, all turned towards me, thankfully, not filled with scorn, but with worry.

Candace looked concerned as well. "What was your dream about?" she asked me.

"I don't-" I started to tell her. Then I stopped. "I _do_ remember. Oh my god, I've got to tell Kath and Jenna!" Then I jumped out of bed and ran out of the room, leaving Candace standing there shocked with no explanation at all.

I almost crashed into Kath and Jenna as I leaped out of the portrait hole. "Hey—oh, bloody hell, it's just you," Kath pouted, "I thought you were James for a second there."

"Kath! Will you quit thinking of James for one minute!" Jenna scolded. "I'm just glad Lianne doesn't have that headache _your_ spell caused her!"

"Never mind that!" I said, "I just want to thank you, Kath, for performing a dangerous and unproven spell on my mind without any reason at all. Thank you, Kath!"

Kath smiled as Jenna shook her head. "That spell must have really messed up. She's sustained brain damage!" Jenna wailed.

"No, no, really!" I assured her. "I finally remembered that bad dream I've been having!"

This piqued Jenna's curiosity. "Really? Is it school related, then?"

"I don't know." I thought of my dream. I was covered in huge snakes, all spitting venom. Some had black stripes, some had brown or yellow, but they were all mostly emerald green. I was scared, petrified even. Streams of tears were running down my cheeks, and I could see my reflection in the puddle they formed; I looked like a freak, disfigured and hideous. There was also a young girl in my dream. Her blond hair covered her face, but somehow she looked familiar. She did nothing but cry as snakes slithered up her arms. Then it was me sitting there crying, as the snakes bit me and squeezed me until I awoke.

"I don't think it has anything to do with school, unless," I joked, "my tears symbolized a Potions cauldron or some mumbo-jumbo like…oh my god, Potions! I haven't done any of the antidotes! I'll be right back, I just have to pick up my textbook from the library!"

"Sure, we'll just…wait here for James," Jenna said, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"Yes!" Kath cheered. She sat down near the Fat Lady, eagerly awaiting her beloved.

I ran down many flights of stairs, taking note of the fact that I had been doing much running as of late, to the library.

-----

I stopped for a second, panting. I had run almost all of the way to the library. I was about to turn the corner, when I heard Lorna's voice in the hall again. "Your mop is looking particularly ratty today, Maura." She laughed. "And is that a pimple, or a Quaffle on your face?" Her friends all laughed as Maura protested feebly. I turned around and started to walk away. I told myself that Maura would do the same to me, given the chance. Then my stomach rebelled and I covered my mouth with my hand. Sweat stood out on my face as I fought not to throw up.

Everyone in Lorna's clique was laughing at Maura now. "You're probably just a Mudblood, pretending to be one of us. I mean, what pureblood has such greasy hair or such an ugly mug. No pureblood is as stupid as you, either." Now Lorna was just making up insults. She was just saying things to be mean to Maura. "Aw, is the little blood traitor going to cry?" I breathed heavily, trying to dispel my nausea.

Now I could hear Maura sobbing. "Stop it!" she yelled, "Leave me alone! Stop saying that!" I had absolutely no sympathy for Maura, but she was just being dumb if she thought those things were true. Her hair was long, straight, and clean, and her face was completely devoid of acne. How could she think what Lorna was saying was the truth?

I looked around the corner and saw her with her head in her hands. Then I realized why the girl in my dream was familiar. It was Maura. But I wondered why my dream would put her in the same position as me. We were nothing alike, after all.

Then memories surfaced in my mind, of Stacey teasing my hair or my acne. Hot tears leaked from my eyes at the very thought of it. I saw a vision myself looking in the mirror, desperately trying to make my hair look acceptable, or to get rid of my pimply visage once and for all. I had rummaged through my yearbook, scribbling out my picture wherever it appeared, so that I wouldn't have to remember how ugly I was, how pathetic I was compared to Stacey.

I took a deep breath, and I stopped feeling so sick. I stood up. I looked and saw Maura sitting in the corner, eyes streaming with tears and surrounded by laughing Slytherins. I thought of how many times I had wished that somebody would stand up for me, that somebody would be my friend. I didn't want to help Maura, but I knew the despair she was feeling, the sense of being worthless.

But then I thought of how many times she had made fun of me, how much she despised me. I thought of how she was determined to be a snobbish pureblood for the rest of her days, how if I was in her position, she wouldn't lift a finger to help me. I felt pure hatred towards her, pure venomous loathing. I didn't want her to be fortunate with her friends. I wanted her to be miserable. And was I really going to help my worst enemy?

Then I made my decision, hoping I wouldn't regret it.

"Leave her alone!" I cried, stepping into the corridor.

"Aw, look," Lorna cooed, "The little blood traitor brought along a friend."

"I'm not her friend," I told Lorna, "but what you're doing is mean. Stop, now."

"Hey, Maura," Lorna jeered, "Looks like you can't even fight your own battles. The little Mudblood has to fight them for you."

"No, she doesn't!" Maura screamed, "Go away! Go away! I don't need help from you, Mudblood! Just go away!" She ran off, crying.

I stared at Lorna, noticing for the first time how her hair lacked the lustrous shine I once thought it had, noticing the vivid pimple on her forehead where only minutes before her skin had seemed perfect. I knew then, that I wouldn't feel miserable anymore. I was free.

-----

To make up for the heinous crime of defending her, Maura took every opportunity to try to make my life miserable. She called me Mudblood, she insulted my looks, my brains, my character. I didn't care. What mattered was that I had done the right thing, so I simply avoided her. If I heard Lorna teasing her in the halls, however, I stood up for her. I didn't care if she wasn't grateful for it; it was something I just had to do.

One day in Potions, after she had sneered, "Mudblood," and left, I noticed she had left a piece of paper on the desk.

"Hey, Maura, you dropped something!" I called after her, but she ignored me and left.

It was a note, addressed to 'Mudblood'. I opened it up. It read, "Meet me in the Room after class, Mudblood. Don't bring anyone, or you are DEAD." I wondered why Maura wanted to talk to me. A part of me thought it was a trap, but I decided to go anyways. Something about the secrecy of it all made me think Maura was being honest about wanting to speak to me.

-----

I met Maura in the Room of Requirement. She sat on a chair, waiting for my arrival. "Maura?" I asked. "You wanted to talk to me. Why?"

"Why are you defending me?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you defending me?" Maura repeated.

I thought about it. "Because I hate you, and because you wouldn't do the same for me."

Maura looked confused. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I sighed. "You would just leave me there to be miserable without a second thought. But I hate you. I don't want to be anything like you. So I stood up for you. Are you happy now?"

She paused. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because you think you're better than me, just because you're a pureblood. Because you hang out with people who think of you only as someone to pick on, and think that's a good thing. Because you hated me without even getting to know me, just because of my blood. That's why I hate you."

She paused again. "Why…why do you think I'm like this?" she asked. I could see the fear in her eyes. "Is it because of _my_ blood? Am I so awful because I come from a pureblood family? Am I doomed to be like this forever?"

I was taken aback. This was a side of Maura I hadn't seen before. For the first time, I felt true pity towards Maura. "No, you're not," I heard myself saying.

"Then why am I like this?" Maura was staring at me, not with loathing, but with something else, like admiration.

"It's because all your life you've been picked on by others." I spoke from my experiences with my own insecurities. "You've been told that you're worthless, a waste of space, unimportant. So you try to take it out on others, to make yourself feel better. But if you had one friend, someone to tell you that you mattered to them, that you weren't worthless, then maybe you'd be a better person."

Maura snorted. "Who'd want to be friends with a snob like me?"

I took a deep breath, wondering if I was really about to do this. One look at Maura, and I knew. "I would," I said to her, "I'll be your one friend, if you want me to."

Maura blinked, shocked, then stared at me for the longest time. I wondered whether she was thinking of way to insult me or an appropriate hex. But then she surprised me by saying, "You know, you're not that bad. For a Mudblood," she added hastily.

I smiled, pondering how quickly absolute loathing could turn into total friendliness. "And you're not that bad, for a Slytherin Snob." She laughed, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship.


	8. Spill the Beans

Maura and I met in the Room of Requirement the next day. We greeted each other with a smile, then pulled out our books so we could actually finish our homework.

"It stinks how much Professor Slughorn favors the purebloods," I commented. That day we had particularly grueling Potions class. We were supposed to be harvesting slug slime for a boil-curing potion that day, but Evelyn had thought she was too good to harvest slime. So she began to talk to Professor Slughorn about how her father had some tickets for some Quidditch game, right in the Top Box, and how much he'd love for Slughorn to watch him play. Sure enough, Slughorn spent the rest of the class talking to Evelyn about whether her father could get him the entire team's autographs that she didn't have to squeeze a single slug.

"It's not that he favors purebloods," Maura told me, "It's that he favors those with connections. Of course, the more magical blood you have, the more connections you have. Why do you think Professor Slughorn didn't believe you when you told him Evelyn added the hemlock to our cauldron?"

"I always wondered about that."

"After all, Evelyn's father is a successful Quidditch player, wealthy, constantly surrounded by fans. She's related to every pureblood family there is, and is brilliant at brewing Potions. You, you don't know anyone in the magical world, really, and you're not too good at Potions—no offense meant," Maura said.

"That's okay," I replied, "I get what you mean. What about you, though? You sort of stopped getting invited to his parties after that first day."

She shrugged. "I guess Slughorn could tell I was a bit of an outsider. It was clear I wasn't going to ever have a job that involved interacting with other people."

"Speaking of," I interjected, "How are you planning on letting Lorna and her group of snots know that we're friends?"

Maura had to think about this. "I don't know. They probably won't be very happy about me being friends with a Muggle-born. In fact, they might get downright vicious."

"Yeah," I said, "I saw them torturing a poor squirrel they found on the grounds a week ago. They skinned the poor thing alive. I think they'd probably do the same to you if they found out. Considering the fact that you live in the same common room as them, they might be hard to avoid. Maybe we shouldn't tell them at all."

"Keep it a secret?"

"Maybe. I know not all Slytherin are evil, but those girls definitely are. And the last thing I want is for you to get hurt."

-----

We managed to keep our friendship a secret for a few weeks. We acted indifferent towards each other during Potions, and whenever I went to the Room I told Kath and Jenna that I was studying in the Gryffindor common room. I felt uncomfortable not telling them, but Kath couldn't keep a secret for her life. I knew they'd understand when the time came to tell them. Unfortunately, one day the immaturity of a certain Gryffindor boy ruined everything.

We were leaving the Room of Requirement that day when a boy rocketed down the corridor and crashed into Maura, spilling his bottle of ink all over her. It dripped down her hair, across her face, and onto her robes, the deep blue standing out against her blond hair and pale skin. He picked up his books, pausing to laugh at her blue visage. I saw it was Conrad Gilmore, a curly-haired Muggle-born from Gryffindor. "Hey, watch where you're going, you pureblood snot!" he jeered at Maura, "Or were you too busy being a snob to care about anything other than your big fat head?"

I bit my lip. Maura sometimes had trouble controlling her temper, and Conrad's taunts weren't making things any easier. "You're the one who bumped into me!" she cried back. Her face furrowed in anger. "You watch where you're going, you filthy little Mudblood! Or did your filthyMuggle parents not teach you any manners?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she had said. She turned to me sheepishly. "I didn't mean—I wasn't thinking—I'm so sorry—"

I held up a hand to silence her. "Don't be," I told her, "It is an offensive and vulgar term, Maura, but I think this particular Mudblood deserves it." I picked up the bottle of ink and upended it over his head. "Nobody messes with my friends." He gaped at me in shock, no doubt having thought I despised Maura. He ran off, presumably to clean himself up.

"Thanks," Maura said.

"Don't mention it." I suddenly wondered whether would tell anyone about Maura and my friendship, but forgot about it when a shadow fell from behind us.

"Ms. Everett! Ms. Greengrass!" a voice barked out. We turned around to see Professor Aurelian standing there. "Did you just dump ink over that boy's head?" We were in so much trouble, I knew.

"He started it-" Maura stammered, trying to think up an excuse.

"We were mad-" I stuttered, trying to justify our behavior.

"It's not our fault-"

"He was being a pig-"

Professor Aurelian interrupted us. "I know it wasn't your fault. You're not in trouble."

"We're not?" I asked.

"No, no. I'll just let you off with a warning, and nobody needs to get a detention," he said.

"Thank you, Professor." Maura looked relieved.

"I'll just need a Galleon from each of you," he finished.

I frowned. "Why?"

"It's…er…to make sure you understand…that there are consequences to doing bad things," Professor Aurelian said slowly, lying through his teeth.

"What if I don't think I should give you a Galleon?" I asked.

"Then you obviously have not learned your lesson, and, therefore, I must give you a detention," he replied.

"All right, then." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a Galleon, my last one. Maura did the same.

Professor Aurelian took them both, said, "Have a nice day," and left.

I looked at Maura, all thoughts of Conrad Gilmore gone from my mind.

-----

By the time I woke up the next day, everyone in my dormitory was gone. When I went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, everybody seemed to be staring at me. People moved away from me when I walked towards them; the clamoring of gossips suddenly silenced. The Slytherins were giving me dagger stares, but that wasn't anything new. I was more worried about the fact that some of the Gryffindors were, too. I saw an empty seat near Candace, and walked over. She and my other roommates were glaring at me. I asked, "Can I sit there, Candace?" wondering if maybe Conrad had told them about Maura and me.

"Why don't you sit with your Slytherin friend?" she asked. I sighed. Conrad had definitely told them. "Well, Lianne? Are you really friends with a pureblood snob?"

I sighed again, feeling worse than after everyone was laughing about my snake freak-out. "She's not a snob, okay? She's really nice, if you'd just give her a chance."

Candace snorted. "That's going to happen." She turned away, giving me the cold shoulder. Seeing as I had suddenly lost my appetite, I decided to find Maura. She was walking towards the Gryffindor table, pumpkin juice dripping from her hair. I ran over and pulled her out of the Great Hall.

"Hi, Maura," I greeted her, "I guess Lorna got a little mad." I pointed at her soaking wet head.

"No, a second year I don't even know dumped this stuff on me. I didn't stick around to see what Lorna would do to me," she said.

"Here, let's wash your hair out," I told her, just as Jenna and Kath walked up to me. "Oh, hi, guys!" I waved, smiling. "Can you give me a minute? Maura needs help drying her hair."

"Lianne?" Jenna asked, not returning the smile. "We _really_ need to talk to you"

"Just a second," I said, "We'll be in the bathroom, okay?"

"This is urgent, Lianne," Kath joined in, "We need to talk to you, _now_."

"All right," I answered, confused. "Excuse us," I said to Maura, "I'll be right back."

As soon as we were alone, Jenna and Kath cornered me. "What is this all about?" Kath asked.

"Look, I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you guys," I said, "But I had no choice."

"Why are you hanging out with that snob?" Jenna asked fiercely, ignoring my comment.

"Huh?" I thought they would be mad about me not telling them, but I didn't think they'd be mad about be being friends with Maura.

"You hate her!"

"I did, but then we became friends. I know it's hard to believe, but she's actually really nice. If you just take the time to get to know her, then you'll see for yourselves."

"Why should we?" Kath asked nastily.

"Because she's my friend," I answered, starting to get angry. "Don't you trust me when I say she's a good friend?"

"Hello? She's in Slytherin!" Jenna snapped, "She's probably only hanging out with you because she's got some evil agenda!"

"Hey! You're the one who said Slytherins aren't evil!" I replied, trying not to give in to my rage, "What about Severus Snape? What about Regulus Black? Maura happens to be an amazing friend. If you can't understand that, then maybe I shouldn't be friends with _you_."

"That is _so _uncool, Lia," Kath said, shaking her head.

"Get used to it," I told her.

"Who is it going to be, Lianne?" Jenna asked, "Us or that Slytherin snot?"

I thought for a moment. Then I walked towards where Maura was standing. "Come on, Maura," I told her, ignoring the stinging in my eyes, "Let's go where we're wanted."

-----

"My friends are mad that I'm hanging out with you," I told Maura when we arrived in the Room of Requirement.

"I figured they might. Everyone seems to really hate me." Maura looked ashamed.

"They just don't know you very well."

Maura looked at me. "I'm really sorry if everyone hates you because of me."

I shrugged, "It's not everyone. It's mostly just the younger Gryffindors who are angry. Everyone else is fine with it. You're a much better friend than them, anyways."

Maura smiled. "Thanks."

"It's true."

"Listen, Lianne, I want to show you something. You've really helped me, and now I want to help you," she said. She pulled out a cage. In it was a large, green snake. I scrambled back as far as I could and pressed myself against the wall.

"What's that?" I asked her in terror.

Maura told me slowly, "This is Basil. He's my pet."

"Oh, n-n-no. I d-don't like s-snakes. I'm t-t-terribly afraid of s-s-snakes," I stammered.

"I know that, Lianne," Maura said, "I was there when you freaked out in class, remember?"

"Oh, y-yeah. R-right. I f-f-for-g-got."

Maura put Basil's cage down. "You know, Lianne, snakes really aren't that bad." She tried to calm me down. "Basil doesn't even bite. I want to help you get over your fear."

I kept staring at Basil in his cage. I didn't like the idea, but maybe it would really help. I nodded. "Okay, but I'm not happy about it."

Maura laughed and picked up Basil's cage.


	9. Red and Green

_Again, I apologize deeply for the delay. But, as promised, I give you not one, but TWO new chapters__ (Well, actually, the second chapter won't be up until tomorrow, but it will be worth __the wait__, trust me)__ P. S. For me, 'a few' means three__ or four__. So when I say 'a few' (within these author's notes), I mean three__ or four__Just letting you know. P.P.S. I really hope if you like this story, you'll read some of my other works. Thank you._

The snake made its way up my arm as I tried not to scream. "Don't worry, Lianne." Maura's voice sounded muffled, almost like background noise. "Basil's not going to hurt you."

I had been working on overcoming my fear of snakes every day for about a week. Although I was still frightened of Basil, I had been making progress. For the first few days I wouldn't even let Basil come out of his cage, much less crawl up my arm. Basil made it all the way up so that his head was on my shoulder. He stared at me, then let out a slow hiss. That was when I lost my cool. My knees buckled out and I began to hyperventilate. Maura quickly unwrapped Basil from around my arm and returned him to his cage.

"You're doing much better," Maura told me.

"Thanks," I gasped. I wiped the sweat off my brow. "Seriously, you don't know how much this helps."

"Don't mention it, Lianne," Maura said, "We all have our fears. For instance, the day before you freaked out in Potions, I had a similar breakdown in Astronomy. I hate heights."

"Oh, that stinks," I replied, "Did you fall off of something when you were little?"

"No." Maura shrugged. "I've just always been afraid of them. It's probably because my father fell down a mountain when I was a baby."

My jaw dropped open. "Is he okay?"

Maura looked at me. "He's dead."

Immediately I felt horrible. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry—I didn't mean to-" I didn't know what to say to apologize to Maura. I was sure she would be so mad at me

Maura just smiled bitterly. "That's okay, Lianne. I barely even knew him. He died just after I was born. And he was a Death Eater, anyways," she added.

"He worked for Voldemort?" I was shocked.

"Yeah. When I was little, I thought it was cool, but now…I think differently." She shrugged again. "I think he must've not been the best person to father a child."

"I am so sorry."

"Really, it's all right. Hey, why don't we look at the Christmas decoration they put up in the Great Hall!" she said, changing the subject.

-----

"Wow," I said, looking at all of the decorations in the Great Hall, "That's festive."

There were twelve-foot tall trees near every entrance, and the teachers were busy levitating ornaments and baubles onto them. Giant banners decorated with Christmas colors were draped from the ceiling. The enchanted ceiling was charmed to mimic a shower of snow, and real snowflakes magically appeared several feet above our heads.

"It must be fun to stay at Hogwarts over the winter holidays," I remarked aloud.

"I sure hope so," Maura said.

"You won't be visiting your family over the holidays?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "My mum doesn't celebrate Christmas," she told me, "She thinks my time would be better spent studying than wishing others a good time."

"Your mom sound like a pleasant person to be around," I said sardonically, then, when Maura pretended to be offended, "I'm kidding!"

"It's okay." Maura laughed. "She isn't very nice at all, really. In fact, I'm sort of glad I don't have to go home. She's downright scary when she's in a temper."

"And…she's in a temper now, right?" I asked. Maura nodded. "Because of me, right?" Maura paused, then nodded again. "I'm really sorry, Maura."

"That's okay, Lianne. My mum doesn't like Muggle-borns, but that doesn't mean I can't be friends with one," she said.

"Thanks."

"Anyways," Maura changed the subject again, "What are you doing over the holidays?"

"Oh, I'm going home for most of the holidays," I said, "But I will be here for a week and a half before the term begins."

"How come?"

"Well, my mum can't get more than a few weeks off of work, and my dad's in the hospital at the moment," I told her.

"Really? What's wrong with your dad?" Maura's face was filled with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing serious," I assured her, "He's just there for an annual checkup."

"That's good."

I looked at my watch. "Wow, it's late," I said, "I've got to go now, Maura. Bye!" I walked briskly back to my dormitory, desperate to get there before lights out.

-----

I left Hogwarts tomorrow for the holidays, and I still hadn't started packing. "Books…" I muttered to myself, packing each item away as I said its name, "Scales…Toothbrush…Clothes…" I pulled one of my robes off of the top of a pile I had assembled the night before. Suddenly the dorm was filled with an awful odor.

"Oh my god, what is that _smell_?" Doris, another of my roommates, cried out while covering her nose. My other roommates did the same. "Lianne!" she accused, having still not forgiven me for my friendship with a Slytherin, "What did you _do_?"

"I didn't do anything!" I snapped. Then I caught sight of the small object nestled in between a shirt and a pair of jeans. "What is this thing?" I asked, holding it as far away from myself as possible.

"Ugh!" Candace said, "It's a Dungbomb!"

"Who'd put a _Dungbomb_ in our room?" Doris asked. I had a pretty good idea, but I didn't know how Lorna Zabini would have gotten into the Gryffindor Tower.

I asked Maura about the incident after breakfast the next day.

"I don't know, Lianne," Maura said, "I was in the Slytherin common room since dinner, and Lorna didn't leave once. And I think you'd need to Confund the entrance or something to get in. I don't think you'd be able to do that until you were at least a seventh year."

"But come on, Maura," I told her, "Be realistic. Who else would have done it?"

"I guess you have a point," Maura conceded, "Lorna _really_ wants to get back at you."

"At least I don't have to worry about her during the holidays, right?" I laughed, then remembered something. "Oh, hey, Maura, this is for you." I pulled out a crudely wrapped package from my book-bag. "Merry Christmas!"

Maura took the package, looking shocked. "This is for _me_?" she asked, "A _gift_?"

"Yes," I said, "A Christmas present. A gift for you." I was a little weirded out by her reaction, to be honest.

"I—I've never gotten a gift before," Maura stammered.

"Never?" I asked, unbelieving, "You must have—your mother must have given you a…a birthday gift or Christmas present before!"

"No." Maura shook her head. "My mum says that my education here, and her feeding me and housing me—she says that's her gift to me."

My mouth hung open. "That's not a gift, that's being a parent! I don't believe it! You've never gotten a single present, _ever_?" Maura shook her head. "We'll fix that right now. Go on, open your gift!"

She tore open the parcel slowly. "Red and green…" she murmured, "So…it's a Christmas scarf?"

I laughed. "No, no! It's red and green, for Gryffindor and Slytherin, silly! You see there, at the ends, where it's gold and silver? I made it myself!" It wasn't the best scarf. It had flaws and frayed patches and one end was far wider than the other, but I had done my best.

"I didn't get you anything, Lianne…I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I said to her, "Seriously. I'm fine."

Maura was shaking her head again.

"What? Don't you like it?"

"I love it, Lianne, it's just…I don't deserve this."

"What do you mean, you don't deserve it, Maura?" I asked, "It's not exactly a work of art. Of course you deserve it."

"No." Maura shook her head again. "I mean I don't deserve a friend like you. You're loyal, you're brave, you're nice…"

I snorted. "Please, Maura. I'm not any of those things. I'm not nice, I'm not loyal, and I'm _definitely_ not brave. Now, if you want to give me a present, then stop saying how you don't deserve this scarf and just put it on, already!"

She laughed, and did as she was told. She looked up at me. "I'm going to miss you, Lianne."

"I'll miss you, too, Maura." I began to walk away and waved. "I have to go now. Professor McGonagall's Floo-ing me back to New Jersey in a little while. Good-bye!"

"Good-bye!" She waved back, clutching the scarf.

I walked up to Professor McGonagall's office and noticed that my eyes were beginning to get blurry.

"Are you ready to go, Miss Everett?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Oh! Y-Yeah, I'm ready."

"Here you are." She handed me a pinch of Floo Powder.

I threw the powder down, named my destination, and emerged wiping away tears that had nothing to do with soot getting in my eyes.


	10. Home for the Holidays

_A/N-I will be able to update more chapters more quickly for a while. By the way, the actual Chapter 9 is posted now, so if you didn't read it, you will find it where my apology letter used to be. You need to read it for this next chapter to make sense. Thank you! _

I emerged from the fireplace in a cloud of soot, and remembered that my mother never had the time to clean out the fireplace. She was sitting on the couch, a frightened look on her face. Then she realized it was only me and not a burglar climbing down the chimney.

"Oh, Janet, I'm sorry!" she cried, running towards me, "I forgot it was so dirty in there. How are you? Are you all right?" she asked without waiting for my answer, "Oh, I _knew_ it was a bad idea to send off to England! Oh, my poor baby, I'm sorry!" Then she held me within a giant bear hug.

"Mom! Mom, I'm fine!" I struggled to free myself. "Hogwarts was great, now can you just let _go_!"

She quickly released me. "Oh, I'm sorry, Janet. I just missed you so much! I don't know why I let you go off to England like that! That women…she must have put a spell on me or something!" I could tell my mother assumed that she had indeed been put under a spell.

"Mom, Professor McGonagall wouldn't put a spell on you," I said to her, "It's against the law to use magic on Muggles, anyways."

"Muggles?"  
"Non-wizards," I clarified, "You weren't under a spell. Professor McGonagall's just scary like that."

"If you say so, honey," Mom said, "Did you like Hogwarts?"

"Yes!" I told her, "I learned a _lot _of magic!"

"Really?" my mother asked, "Well then, would you like to help me with the chores? You could just snap your fingers and make the dishes clean," she added jokingly.

"Actually, Mom, I can't," I said, "There's a law against minors doing magic outside of school."

"Oh, okay!" My mom looked at my sooty face. "I'll get a hot bath ready for you. Oh, and then I've got some cookie dough and your favorite movie! We can watch it together!" She hugged me again.

"Cookie dough?" I asked, "_Raw_ cookie dough?"

She nodded. "I just missed you, Janet."

"I missed you, too, Mom!" I hugged her, forgetting all my troubles, just happy to be back.

-----

After I soaked in the bathtub, I walked downstairs, taking in the sight of my home, seeing what had changed since I left in September. I saw that Mom and Dad had finally gotten those new curtains they had been talking about, and there was a chair in the living room that hadn't been there before. My room, however, had remained exactly the same as when I left it.

I plopped down on the couch next to Mom. "So, how's Dad doing?" I asked.

"Oh, fine, fine," Mom replied, "The doctors say his condition is starting to go into remission."

"That's good. Hey, can you pass the cookie dough?" I scooped up a spoonful and ate it. "Yum. I forgot how wonderful cookie dough tastes."

"They didn't have cookie dough at Hogwarts?" Mom asked, "Oh, right, you probably had scones, and fish 'n' chips, and-"

"-Actually, Mom, most of it was just regular food stuff. Except for the pumpkin juice. We drink a lot of pumpkin juice at Hogwarts."

My mom furrowed her brow. "Funny, that doesn't seem like an English thing."

"No, I think it's more of a wizarding thing." I looked up at her. "Anyways, you used to live in England. Why are you asking me what it's like?"

Mom sighed. "Janet, I never _lived_ in England. Your father went to college in England, and we were sightseeing around the time you were born. Now, do you want to watch the movie now?"

"Yeah!" My mom turned on the TV, I curled up in my blanket, and we watched all the green numbers flying across the screen as the movie began.

When it ended, I yawned as the credits rolled across the screen. "Good night, Mom," I said.

"Good night, Janet." She smiled.

"By the way, Mom," I told her, "I really want to be called 'Lianne' from now on. I think it fits me better than Janet does."

She smiled again and laughed. "It certainly does. You Great-Aunt Lianne would have been so proud of you. You would have loved to meet her."

"Everyone always says that, Mom. But I'm never going to meet her. She died two days before I was born, remember?" I paused. "Tell me about Great-Aunt Lianne again." I had been told this story ever since I was five, but I never got tired of hearing it.

Mom took a deep breath, and began. "Great-Aunt Lianne wasn't really your great aunt, but she was just like part of the family. She was born in a small town in Missouri. She was an orphan, but instead of going by what the orphanage named her, she named herself Lianne. She always said that every girl and her cousin was called Mary-Jane, and she wasn't going to let herself be one of them.

"She met my mother when she was fourteen, and they became best friends. She helped my mother and father fall in love, and when they married, Lianne was their maid of honor. She even helped your father and me get married. So, when we heard that she had died, we named you after her. And that's her story."

"Thanks for telling me, Mom," I said, walking to the stairs, "Good night."

"Good night, Jan—I mean, Lianne."

-----

The next morning, after I woke up, I went into the bathroom, looked out the window, and then froze. I was looking at the neighbor's cactus, the one that looked like Professor Longbottom's _mimbulus mimbletonia_. There was no doubt in my mind. That plant was definitely a _mimbulus mimbletonia_. "Mom!" I yelled, running downstairs, "Mom! Mom!"

My mom was doing the dishes when I ran in. "What is it, J—Lianne?"

"Who's the lady who lives next door?" I asked frantically, "With that cactus?"

"Oh, that's Flora Herberts. She doesn't come out much. She's the one who helped us find the house. She used to teach at your father's college. She taught botany, I think." My mom resumed scrubbing away at all our china.

"Thanks!" I ran outside, thankful I had fallen asleep in jeans and a T-shirt the night before. I rang the doorbell and tapped my foot impatiently. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened, and I was greeted by an elderly woman in a wheelchair. "Hi," I said, "I'm Lianne Everett, from next door, and I'd like to talk about that plant in your window."

I sat down in her living room and she poured me some tea. Living in England had not affected my dislike for tea one bit, so I merely pretended to slurp my drink. "So, um, where did you find that plant?" I asked, "It looks like something I saw at school." I expected her to give some answer like 'I found it in a graveyard under a full moon' or 'I got it on an expedition where the rest of my team mysteriously vanished.'

What I did not expect her to say was, "My father gave it to me. Oh, yes, I did hear that a young girl around here had started school in Hogwarts. How is Neville doing?"

I was taken aback. "Um…who?"

"Oh, sorry, _Professor_ Longbottom." She drank her tea. "How is he?"

"Um, he's fine," I said, "How do you know him?"

"I'm his second cousin once removed. My father gave him a _mimbulus mimbletonia_ too, when he was…fifteen, I think?" She frowned in concentration. "I wonder if his is still alive. You have to water it exactly once every three days, you know, otherwise it shrivels up and begins to rot. You also have to

keep it in the sunlight, and feed it a special blend of herbs. I'll bet his is long dead!" She crossed her arms, looking triumphant.

"…So, wait…" I was confused. "…You're a witch?"

She shook her head. "Sadly, no. I'm a Squib."

"A…Squib?" My head began to ache. This was too much information to take in. "What's a Squib?"

She sighed. "A Squib is someone born into a wizarding family who has no magical powers whatsoever. Instead Muggle-borns like yourselves get those oh-so-special power, while people like me are powerless."

"Oh," I said awkwardly, "Um…I'm sorry."

"That's all right," she said, getting a crazed look in her eye, "I made the most of it. I had a good life as a Muggle. My father, though, was devastated. When he thought little Neville might be a Squib, he did everything he could to make sure Neville didn't end up like _me_!" She laughed, the laugh short and bitter. "I heard he once tossed Neville off a pier, and dangled him out the window, and such! He gave Neville a pet toad when he got his magic, but what did I get? Nothing!"

She was red in the face now. Then her breathing slowed, and she looked up at me. "I had a good life, though, away from those rotten wizards and their rotten magic. I _hate_ those stuck-up witches and those wizards up on their high horses! Well, who cares about them? I had a good life, better than any of theirs! A good life," she began to mumble to herself, like a mantra, "A good life." She giggled maniacally.

"I have to go now," I told her, letting myself out.

"Did you enjoy the tea?" she asked and I ran to the door. Her eyes were glazed over, and she seemed out of focus. For some reason, it reminded me of a rabid dog I had once seen on TV. I was scared.

I laughed nervously. "I loved it!" I lied. Then I ran back to my house and locked all the doors.

-----

I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mrs. Herbert's crazy eyes and heard her voice chanting, over and over, 'I _hate_ those stuck-up witches!" The _mimbulus mimbletonia_ sat in her window, almost taunting me. Then my door creaked open. I screamed.

"Lianne! Lianne!" my mother cried, running in, "It's only me! I saw your light on, sweetie. What's wrong?"

I sighed. "Nothing, nothing, just a bad dream."

"Lianne?" I looked at her. "Listen, this might be a good time to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"I'm happy that you're learning magic, but I'm worried that you're neglecting a…a…a Mubble-"

"-Muggle-"

"-Muggle education. I've talked with your father, and we want you to take some summer school classes," my mom finished.

"Mom, can't this wait until morning?" I asked, rubbing my weary eyes.

"Are you planning on sleeping at all tonight?" Mom asked back.

"…No."

"Then no, it can't. You're going to summer school," she said.

"But, Mom, why?" I protested.

"Because," she replied, in a no-nonsense tone she must have learned from McGonagall, "I won't have my daughter growing up with no knowledge of grammar or math or science. And that's that."

"But that could take months!" I cried.

"I have spoken with a tutor. She is under the impression that you are taught by a friend of mine who homeschools her child. She says it should only take about five weeks."

"But that's half of summer break!" I shouted, "And I have to do homework for Hogwarts, too, over the summer!"

"Either you take summer school, or I'm pulling you out of Hogwarts." Mom was giving me an ultimatum. "It's your choice."

"Ugh!" I cried, lying back in bed. It wasn't until morning that I realized why Mom picked that seemingly inconvenient time to bring up the subject, because no sooner had my head hit the pillow, I was deep in a dreamless sleep.

_A/N-Yes, I know cookie dough is really gross, but everyone I know thinks it's delicious. Also, in case you didn't notice, they are watching 'The Matrix', which I do not own either._


	11. Do You Remember?

_A/N-In response to some fans' comments: I merely said Lianne's father had a muscular disease, but I have done my research (hooray for research!) decided to make it "Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy". You can learn about Limb-Girdle MD at 'www, brainlink, org, au / muscular-dystrophy, htm' (substitute periods for my commas). By the way, I need to know if the Greengrass mentioned within the Harry Potter books was 'Daphne Greengrass' or 'Tracey Greengrass'. Both names are frequently mentioned within fanfiction, but I must know which one is correct. Thank you!_

I walked downstairs yawning and stretching my arms. "Hey, Mom, what's for breakfast?" I asked, seeing my mother in the kitchen cleaning the counters.

"You slept well," Mom commented, "And no, it's lunch. It's one in the afternoon."

"Whatever," I grumbled, "Can you just grab me some cereal? I'm tired."

"I'm sure you are." Mom poured me my cereal. "You were still awake at three in the morning. What was bothering you?"

"Nothing," I lied, "Nothing at all. Oh, and thanks for distracting me with that 'summer school' nonsense you made up," I added. Then I looked up, worried. "That _was_ nonsense, right?"

She handed me my cereal, then said, "No, Lianne, I was serious about that."

"Aw, man!" I muttered, "That sucks."

"What was that, young lady?" Most of my classmates had parent who didn't care if they occasionally used slightly inappropriate language like 'sucks'. My mother was not one of those parents. 'Sucks' wasn't even that bad of a word anyways, but Mom didn't like me to say it.

"Nothing!" I ate my cereal with a scowl. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, I'm going down to the hospital to visit your father," Mom told me, "Would you like to come?"

"Would I like to-" I repeated, wondering why she thought there might be the slightest possibility of me not wanting to come with her, "Of course I would!" My frown turned into a huge smile and I ran upstairs to get dressed. I was back down a few minutes later, wearing my best pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt.

My mom looked at me with one eyebrow raised. "Your shirt's inside out," she observed.

"Oh, man!" I ran back upstairs and returned with my shirt on properly. "Come on, Mom, let's go!" I grabbed her arm and began to drag her to the door.

"Lianne! Lianne!" Mom protested. "We aren't seeing your father for two more hours. Why don't you watch some TV to pass the time?"

"Fine!" I grumbled, grabbing the remote. I turned on the TV and stared at it. "Is it time yet?" I asked.

"No, Lianne," my mother said, laughing, "You were never quite this impatient. What's gotten into you?"

I sighed. "It's just, I haven't gotten to see him since the summer. I miss him. How is his shoulder?" I asked, referring to the area where his muscular dystrophy had affected him the most.

"It isn't exactly doing better," Mom said, "But the disease hasn't spread too much since his last checkup."

I smiled and stared at the TV some more, waiting desperately for three o' clock.

-----

"Daddy!" I cried as I ran into my father's room. He was lying in a hospital bed wearing one of those hospital nametag bracelets. I hated how the doctors always made him lie down in that bed. He was sick; he wasn't dying.

"Janet!" he replied, giving me a hug, "Oh, no wait, I forgot. When your mother called, she said you wanted to be called Lianne." He laughed. "Darn that old age! I'm losing my memory." Dad always made a big joke about losing his memory.

"Oh, Dad," I giggled, "You're only forty-one. That's not old."

"That's what everyone tells me," he said, "So, how was _school_?" He put emphasis on the word as if saying it like that made it part of a secret code.

"It was _fine_," I answered, imitating him. I laughed at my joke. "I learned a lot of stuff," I told him, careful not to make any mention of magic around the doctors, "And I made a really good friend there."

"Oh, right, you mentioned her in one of your letters," Dad said, "Mary, right?"

"Her name's _Maura_, Dad."

"Oh, right," he said, chagrined, "Darn that old age! I'm losing my memory."

"You said that already, Dad."

"You see? I'm losing it already!" he replied. I burst into laughter. Dad always knew how to make me laugh. I began to describe my time at Hogwarts to him once Dad's doctor had left the room. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed by the time six o'clock came around and visiting hours were officially over.

"We have to leave now, Lianne," Mom reminded me.

I got up and headed to the door. "I love you, Dad," I told him.

"I love you too, Lianne."

-----

I came downstairs to see Mom struggling to put up the Christmas tree. "You know," I remarked, "Most families don't wait until Christmas Eve to put up their tree."

"Most families have a lot more free time than us," she replied, trying to balance the tree. At a height of six feet, it was a good eight inches taller than my petite mother, and she was having trouble getting it to stand up straight. "Now, are you going to help me with this, or are you just going to stand there?" I walked over and helped her put the tree in the stand.

"What made you decide to get a real tree this year?" I asked her.

"Oh, I don't know," she replied, "I just fancied having a real plant in the house this year."

"I'll get the snacks ready," I said. I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Mom, there aren't any snacks in here."

"Oh!" Mom groaned, "Snacks! I forgot." I sighed. Sometimes Mom had more 'memory problems' than Dad did.

I grabbed my winter coat. "Let's get to the grocery store, then."

As we grabbed a cart at the store, Mom asked, "So, what do we need?"

"Cookie dough, some for eating raw and some for cooking, M&M's, chocolate bars, frosting, eggnog-"

"-Which under no circumstances are you allowed to drink," Mom warned.

"Of course," I said, "And, last but not least, the Christmas turkey. Or ham. What do you think, Mom?"

"Why don't we go with ham?" Mom suggested, "Turkey is better for when the whole family is eating dinner."

"Right," I replied.

I woke up the next day at about ten o'clock. I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and then remembered it was Christmas morning. "Mom! Mom!" I ran downstairs. "Mom! It's Christmas!"

Mom was in the kitchen fixing breakfast. "So it is," she said, a huge smile on her face, "Do you want to open your presents now, or do you want to save them for later?"

It was an easy choice. "Now!" My mom laughed, knowing that this would be my answer.

I had gotten a lot of clothes from my grandparents, a makeup kit from my aunt Elizabeth, and some books from Uncle Ed. My mom was happy about the clothes and the books, but was less than thrilled about the makeup kit. She told me I wasn't allowed to use it until I was at least thirteen.

Finally, Mom said, "This one is from your father and me." She handed me a lumpy package.

I opened it up and gasped. It was a brand-new bright blue skateboard, with a helmet and a set of elbow and knee pads to match. It was a gift I had begged for from when I was nine years old to when I was ten and a half, when I had found out that skateboarding was dorky. It was then that I had quit because I didn't want to give Stacey another reason to tease me. Of course, Mom thought I stopped skateboarding because I didn't have any time.

"Do you like it?" Mom asked.

"I love it, Mom," I told her, not sure whether this was a lie or not. After all, I had loved skateboarding, and I hated having to stop. "Thanks."

Mom began to clean up the scattered wrapping paper and packing peanuts as I pulled one last present out from under the tree. "This is for you and Dad, Mom. It's from me," I said. I handed it to her.

The brown paper was clumsily wrapped around it, but it was clear the present was round like a ball, and it just barely fit in my hand. Mom slowly opened the parcel revealing a clear ball. The tag attached to the package read, "For all your 'memory losses'. Love, Lianne".

"It's a Remembrall," I told my mom, "When it turns red, it means there's something you've forgotten to do. It's magic, so you'll want to hide it from any Muggle visitors, but it should really help you out, like if you've left the stove on, or forgotten to buy groceries or something. Professor Longbottom helped me buy it. He said it was a lifesaver when he was a kid."

Mom smiled. "Thanks, Lianne."

"Don't mention it," I said.

After breakfast, I brought my gifts up to my room, and, after much consideration, put my new skateboard near my door. Maybe I'd give skateboarding another try in the summer.

-----

A few days later, I finally decided to read one of the books Uncle Ed sent me. I was reading about the exploits of Harriet M. Welsh for a few hours until I was interrupted by a tapping at my window. I looked up and saw an owl tapping his beak on my windowpane. I opened it up and the owl dropped a package in front of me. I untied the letter attached to its leg and read it. It contained a brief message, and merely said:

_Lianne,_

_Happy Christmas!_

_Your friend,_

_Maura_

I grinned and opened the package. It contained a knitted hat even more shoddily made than my scarf. It was made from fraying red wool and barely fit on my head. There was some golden embroidery on the front which I assumed was supposed to be a lion, but bore some resemblance to a lop-eared rabbit. It was clear Maura had never knitted anything in her life, but I didn't mind. I was just happy to finally have a friend.

-----

"Do you have your textbooks?" Mom asked me.

"Check," I said.

"Your clothes?"

"Check," I said.

"Your cauldron?"

"I left it at school, Mom," I told her.

"What else did you leave at school?" she asked, worried.

"My scales, my potions ingredients, and my telescope," I recited.

"Do you have your alarm clock?"

I sighed. "Digital clocks don't work at Hogwarts, Mom. That's why I'm not bringing my CD player, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"We've got everything, Mom," I said, "Stop worrying."

"I can't!" Mom cried, "I just feel like we've forgotten something!"

"Then give me the Remembrall and we'll see," I told her patiently. Mom frowned, a look of concentration on her face. "Mom?"

She took a deep breath. "I've forgotten where it is," she confessed.

"You left it on the hall table, next to the keys. Remember?"

"Oh, right," she said as she walked out my bedroom door. I sighed. Mom always insisted on going over the list of everything I had packed several times before I traveled anywhere. I still had a good 

two days before I left for Hogwarts, and Mom couldn't stop panicking. I sighed again, wishing Mom wouldn't be so paranoid about it.

Mom returned a minute later, holding the Remembrall. I noticed it had turned bright scarlet in her hand. She gave it to me, and all trace of ruddiness in the orb vanished.

"Now do you believe I haven't forgotten anything?" I asked, holding up the Remembrall. Mom nodded, then tried to remember what it was she had forgotten. I leaned against the wall, and heard the faint sound of running water. On a hunch, I asked her, "Did you forget to turn off the bathwater, Mom? I think it's overflowing."

"Oops."


	12. Old Friends, New Enemies

_I'm sorry I'm late in posting! I had papers and conventions and I was busy. Now I'm feeling guilt and shame and more guilt for not posting! I'm really, really, really, really (etc.) sorry!_

"Hello, Professor Longbottom!" I called out as I dragged my bags up to the Gryffindor Tower late at night, "What are you doing out so late?"

"I'm patrolling the corridors," he informed me, "It's a security measure. We always have a different teacher patrolling every night."

"That makes sense," I said, "Hey, I met a relative of yours over winter break. Her name's Flora Herberts."

"Oh, Flora!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed, "Yes, I remember, Uncle Algae's daughter. She was at a few of our family reunions, though Uncle Algae stopped bringing her when she was around nine or so. I always wondered why."

"She said it was because she was a…a Squid? No, a _Squib_!" I corrected myself.

"Yes, Uncle Algae was quite prejudiced against Squibs," he said, almost whispering to himself, "It would explain all the secrecy…Well," he addressed me, "Flora was quite an intellect girl, I remember. And so sensible! I never met a more down-to-earth person in my life—excepting, perhaps, my dear grandmother and Professor McGonagall, of course. How is Flora?"

Somehow, the phrase 'down-to-earth' didn't really come to mind when describing the lunatic woman living in the house next door to mine, but I really didn't want to tell Professor Longbottom that. "Um…she's…changed a little since you saw her last."

"I see." Professor Longbottom looked at his watch, and said, "Well, look at the time! You had best be getting to your dorms now. I've got more patrolling to do."

I sighed. I wanted to say hello to Maura as soon as I arrived, but I realized she would already be asleep. I'd have to wait until the morning.

I slept soundly that night, not having to worry about any of my giggling roommates. In fact, all but a few of the Gryffindors were home for the holidays. As I walked through the common room, instead of seeing dozens of Gryffindors draped upon every scrap of furniture, I only saw Albus and James Potter, Rose Weasley, and a few others talking in a group.

Instead of eating breakfast, I ignored my growling stomach and ran to the dungeons. I had crammed Maura's handmade hat on my head, and had to constantly hold on to it to make sure it didn't fall off.

After waiting for about half an hour near where I imagined the Slytherin common room was, I walked back up to the Great Hall. I scanned the Slytherin table to see if I could spot Maura. Aside from about five Slytherin sixth and seventh years, there was no one there. Then I saw Maura, her white-blond hair bright as a beacon, sitting by herself in a corner of the hall. "Maura!" I called out, waving my hand.

Maura looked up, surprised. Then she smiled as she saw me and began to walk towards me. "Hi Lianne!"

"What were you doing over there by yourself?" I asked her.

"I can't exactly eat with the rest of the Slytherins anymore," she said, rolling her eyes.

As if on cue, one of the Slytherins yelled out, "Traitor!"

"I'm sorry," I told her, "Do you want to head to the library? I have _tons_ of homework I've been ignoring all winter."

"Sure," she said, as we walked out of the Great Hall, "I still have to do that horrid Potions essay for Professor Slughorn."

"Oh, yeah, me too."

"I hope the hat's not too bad," Maura apologized, pointing to the hat she made, "I tried my best, but I had to use this really old book from the library-"

"-Maura-" I tried to say.

"-And none of the house elves would teach me because they thought I was trying to make the hat for _them_ and I tried to explain but they didn't believe me-"

"-Maura-"

"-And the etiquette book didn't say how to make a lion and it was written in Old English and it only showed me how to do things like roses and birds and-"

"Maura!" I interrupted. She froze, silent. "I love it, Maura. It is the best gift I have ever gotten."

She smiled. "Thanks." I smiled back.

As we walked towards the library I looked up at the moving stairs and living portraits, just happy to be back at Hogwarts. I noticed a figure directly above us, balancing something on the railing. The object on the railing wobbled for a second, then tipped over towards us.

"Look out!" I cried, as I jumped out of the way. The bucket clattered against the ground as a sticky, viscous substance coated the bottom of my robes and some spattered itself in Maura's long, straight hair. I looked up at the figure above, but only saw the tip of a braid swing around and disappear. "Ugh! What is this stuff? Bubotuber pus?" I asked, expecting my leg to begin to swell up.

"No," Maura said cautiously. She sniffed the sample on her hand. "I think it's just syrup."

"Well, that's good, but still," I fumed, "Lorna and her friend have gone too far this time. We could have really gotten hurt."

"Lianne, it couldn't have been Lorna," Maura said, shaking her head.

"What, you don't think she would have the nerve? This is _Lorna_ we're talking about. She's downright evil." I was a little frustrated by Maura naiveté.

"No, Lianne," Maura said again, more forcefully, "Think logically. This isn't Lorna's style. She doesn't hide and attack you from behind. She makes sure you know it's her who's getting even."

"Her _style_, Maura?" I asked, "Who cares whether it's her _style_ or not? There's no possible way it _couldn't_ have been Lorna!"

"Lorna isn't even here, Lianne!" she cried. I paused. "Lorna hasn't been at Hogwarts all winter. Neither have any of her friends. _It wasn't Lorna_."

"Maybe…maybe…" I floundered, "Maybe she got some of the Slytherins here to do it."

But Maura was already shaking her head. She pointed at the large double doors of the Great Hall. "If they left the Great Hall, they'd have needed to open those doors. You know how much noise they make. And-" She cut me off before I could say anything else. "They would have had no time to get all the way up those stairs if they left through any of the other doors. Those Slytherins you saw in the Great Hall, they're the only ones whose parents aren't taking them to some mansion or vacation far away from Hogwarts. It couldn't have been Lorna, Lianne."

"You have a point," I conceded, "But, if it wasn't Lorna, who was it?"

"Let's see…'The properties of wormwood, a herbaceous, perennial plant which sprouts among arid and rocky regions of Europe, when it is harvested underneath the milky glow of a full moon are many and wondrous'," I read from my essay, "'The waxing light of the full moon greatly increases the potency and improves the properties of aforementioned wormwood so that a simple infusion of this flowering herb has the power to grant numerous uses within potion making.'"

"Brilliant!" Maura applauded, "That's wonderful, Lianne. I'm having a bit of trouble, though. I'm sure you can help me. What exactly _are_ the properties of wormwood when harvested under a full moon?"

"Beats me," I shrugged, "I've only written those two sentences."

"But you've been working for hours!"

"I know," I grumbled, "Here, let me see. Where's my Potions textbook?" I froze. My textbook wasn't in my bookbag. I wondered if I had left it back at home. I panicked for a second, thinking that I was in so much trouble, then remembered that I hadn't brought it home.

"Didn't you leave it in the classroom?" Maura asked, "You said you'd pick it up before you left for the winter."

"Oh, right, I must have forgotten! I'll be right back," I assured her, "I'll go down to the dungeons and get it. It'll only take a few minutes."

"What if it's locked?" Maura reminded me.

"I'll find a teacher," I said, "Half an hour, tops."

I walked down to the dungeons, hoping the door wasn't locked. I heard voices in the dungeon, however.

"I really don't think we should be doing this," one voice, decidedly female, said nervously, "What if someone gets hurt? And I really don't want to get in trouble."

"You're not going to get in trouble," the other voice, also a girl's voice, retorted, "Besides, that two-faced snake deserves it."

"You're sure you know what you're doing?"

"Positive. This potion is incredibly poisonous. One drop of this and her precious little pet is history." There was a pause. "What?" the second voice snapped.

"I'm just surprised that you actually know how to brew a potion," the first said.

"Oh, please. I'm not _that_ stupid, Jenna."

A jolt of realization hit me. It was Kath and Jenna who dumped the syrup all over us the day I came back, Kath and Jenna who put the Dungbomb in my room. And whatever they were planning, it couldn't be good. I shoved open the door, wand in hand. "What are you guys-"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Jenna cried, and my wand went flying. Kath came up behind me and shoved me into a conveniently open closet. I heard the lock clinking shut outside.

"Let me out!" I yelled, "What's going on here? Why did you guys break into the Potions dungeons?"

"Hey, we didn't break in," Kath defended, "The door was unlocked when we got here."

"Sorry, Lianne," Jenna said, "But it's for your own good."

"What are you talking about?" I cried as I looked through the keyhole, "Get me out of here!" Through the tiny opening the keyhole gave me, I saw Kath and Jenna leaving the dungeons. I looked around, seeing nothing that could help me to escape. "Will somebody let me out?" I whimpered, "Please?"

_A/N-Again, I'm sorry updating took so long. I'll do something to make it up to you. I promise._


	13. Ophidiophobia

_A/N-And now, I introduce the villain, J.K. Rowling style (for those of you who don't understand what this means, J.K. Rowling always introduced the villains in the thirteenth chapter). Warning: very, very, very mild curse words coming up. Just thought you should know._

_P.S. Special surprise bonus for anyone who knows what 'ophidiophobia' means!_

"Hello?" I croaked after a while, my voice becoming hoarse, "Anybody?" I sighed. "I'm going to _kill_ Kath and Jenna when I get out of here." I looked around me, wishing I was at least in a roomier closet. It was rather large, actually, but most of the space was filled with large cauldrons. One looked to be full of water, another seemed to be packed with mud.

The last one, though, was intriguing. It shimmered and had a light cloud of steam billowing from it. I cautiously sniffed the air; the potion gave off a pleasant scent, one smelling of roast turkey, cookie dough, and a scent I couldn't quite name. It smelled a little like capers, mixed with musk. It smelled unusual, but it was somehow a pleasant odor to me. But the wonderful aroma the potion emitted wasn't enough to make me enjoy being trapped in the closet. After all, the air felt damp and sticky, there wasn't any space for me to sit down, and there was this annoying tapping sound getting louder and louder.

Then I realized it. The tapping I had been hearing was the sound of somebody's footsteps. They could get me out of the closet. I was about to scream for help when I heard someone yell, "These ropes really _hurt_, you know!" I peeked through the keyhole to get a better look, but they weren't in the room yet.

"They're not _ropes_, they're _magical bonds_," a voice replied, sounding very frustrated. "And what did I tell you about _keeping your mouth shut_!"

"What if I don't?" the first voice sneered.

"Then I will make you. _Silencio_!" The owner of this voice walked in, dragging the immobile form of James Potter behind him. I gasped, then covered my mouth and hoped the man hadn't heard me. Even without his wand he seemed a formidable foe, muscular and with a look of malice in his eyes. He picked up a few vials placed on Slughorn's desk, then muttered, "Bloody hell, I can't tell this things apart. _Professor_," he said mockingly, "which one's the Polyjuice Potion?"

I almost gasped again, but stopped myself. I told myself that by 'Professor' he might not have meant a Hogwarts professor, but instead he probably was referring to a personal nickname or a professor at some other school. Then Professor Aurelian entered the room, and I almost gasped a third time.

"Well?" the broad man asked, "Which is it?"

Instead of answering, Professor Aurelian looked around nervously. "I wish you hadn't made such a commotion earlier," he murmured, "Someone could have heard you."

"Isn't everyone gone?"

"Well, yes," Aurelian admitted, "Most of the students are gone, and the teachers shouldn't be in the halls."

"So what are you so worried about?" the man asked, "Honestly, you'd think embezzling thousands of Galleons would give a man a spine."

"I just-"

"Listen, all you have to do is hand the boy over there-" He gestured to James, still struggling against the invisible bonds that held him. "-to my friends and you'll get your cut. Quit worrying, _Professor_. Now where is that Polyjuice Potion?"

"It's in that closet over there." Professor Aurelian pointed directly at me. My eyes widened as the frightening man walked closer. I looked around for a place to hide, but there was nothing large enough to shield me from view.

The doorknob jiggled. I froze in terror. "Where's the bloody key, Professor?" the man grunted. I breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing.

Then I was paralyzed again as Aurelian said, "I've got it right here." I saw the key being shoved through the keyhole, and the door suddenly opened. The towering, fearsome kidnapper was right in front of me, and I was horribly, terribly visible.

"Well, what have we here?" he sneered as a smirk stretched across his face, "A little informer."

"Um…" I squeaked, "Would you believe that I didn't hear a thing of what you and Professor Aurelian were talking about?" I laughed nervously, praying that they might believe my blatant lie.

"No."

"I thought not." The man grabbed a hold of my arm, practically cutting off circulation.

"Ms. Everett, I'm sorry," Professor Aurelian was murmuring, "I didn't mean for any of the other students to get hurt. You're not going to harm her, are you?" he asked his partner.

"Probably," the man grinned. I whimpered in fear. "Unless you can think of another way to shut her up."

"Could your friends take her with them?" Aurelian asked.

"No. Not enough brooms." He looked at me, thinking. "I could Obliviate her memory," he suggested.

"Absolutely not!" Aurelian cried, "Meddling in a student's mind is dangerous! Their brains aren't developed enough. Performing spells that affect their minds could result in complete amnesia!"

"I don't care!" I gabbled quickly. I didn't like the idea of complete amnesia, but it was preferable to death. "I've had my mind messed with before. It's not as bad as you would think. Please, please, _please_ do not hurt me, I'm begging you!"

The man smirked again. "All right. Iwon't hurt you. I'll just lock you up in that closet there until my plan's complete."

I almost cried with relief. "Oh, thank you, thank you," I said, then realized he wasn't talking about the closet I was trapped in before. He was talking about the one that held Professor Slughorn's venomous snake. "No, you-you can't put me in there!" I stammered, tears coming to my eyes again, this time ones of fear. "The-there's a h-huge s-snake in there, and i-it's vicious!"

"You don't like snakes, do you?" he asked me.

"N-n-no."

His smirk grew wider. "Then I should enjoy hearing you scream for mercy."

"B-but you said you wouldn't hurt me!" I protested.

"I said _I_ wouldn't hurt you. I never said anything about the snake."

"Professor Aurelian!" I screamed, scared out of my wits, "Do something!"

"We really shouldn't…" he murmured, eyes downcast.

"_Now_ you get a conscience, _Professor_?" The man's voice was full of frustration, which only made Aurelian even more nervous.

"It's just…"

That was when the man snapped. "Listen, Aurelian!" he snarled, "I have risked _everything_ for this plan, and I am not going to let some little girl ruin it! Unless you want to go to Azkaban for embezzlement and extortion, I would keep your mouth shut and not make me mad!" I gulped. This guy was crazier than Mrs. Herberts. He dragged me, begging and pleading, to the closet, unlocked the door, and threw me in.

"Please, you can't leave me here! Erase my memory! Silence me! Just don't leave me in here!" I was sobbing uncontrollably now. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. Just don't leave me here!"

I heard footsteps as the two left the dungeons. The giant door swung shut, blocking my screams from whoever might be listening. I collapsed into a quivering heap. I was sweating profusely, and tears poured down my cheeks unchecked.

"Why did it have to be snakes?" I croaked, "Why snakes?"

Then I felt something slither up my leg, heard a long, drawn-out hiss. I froze as though I were paralyzed, and, unable to scream or even cry out, I simply sat there as my robes became soaked with tears.

_A/N-There! Chapter thirteen is complete! Have you ever wondered what Helena Ravenclaw's life was like? If you have, please check out my new story, "The Gray Lady". It's about (guess what?) the Gray Lady! It should be posted tomorrow. If you like that, I have some other works, too._


	14. Teamwork

_A/N: I am terribly sorry for the delay. There were essays, and tests, and conventions, and other such stressful things. I am NOT discontinuing the story, and more will be up soon. Also-"The Gray Lady" will be up tomorrow (and I really do mean tomorrow this time). It will only update once every two weeks or so, so that it doesn't distract me from 'Mudbloods and Slytherin Snobs'. Thank you for being so understanding._

I was sitting on the dungeon floor, trying to move, trying to scream, trying to do anything at all. At the same time, I was within my own mind, trapped inside my memories.

I was in a big place with lots of animals, and everybody was screaming really loud. I was screaming too, but it wasn't because everybody else. All I wanted was to find my mommy and daddy and go home. I ran around a lot looking for them. "Mommy!" I screamed, "Daddy!" I didn't know where they were, and there were snakes—which Daddy told me are really big worms—everywhere. I wasn't scared of worms, but these ones were so big and scary, and they had huge teeth like the monsters under my bed. Mommy told me not to touch them before, because they were dangerous like strangers. And there were a lot of strangers here, too, and they were stopping me from finding my mommy and daddy.

"Janie!" Mommy yelled, "Janie, where are you?" I saw Mommy's shiny shoes in front of me, and I tried to run over to her, but I fell and hurt my knee. And I was really sad because I was wearing my pink pants and there was red stuff on the knee and my knee hurt a lot. Then the biggest snake I ever saw got on top of me and it was making a scary noise like the monster from Daddy's storybook. And then I was really, really scared. And I didn't know why, but I thought that Mommy was going to come and hit it with her new purse, but she didn't and then I was really scared because everybody else was gone and I was in a dark room and the snake got really, really big, and there was somebody hitting the door and then it stopped and the snake was shaking me and calling my name, except it wasn't my real name, they were calling me my middle name, the one that's on the thing of paper from the hospital and something cold went down my throat and-

"Maura!" I sat bolt upright. "Maura, what happened?" Then I screamed as I realized the giant snake from my dream was still attached to my leg. "Get that thing off of me!"

"I can't, Lianne, I've been trying, I came down to see if you were okay, and I found your Potions book on the floor and then I heard the screaming and then I opened the door and then you were here screaming and then I saw bite marks and then I gave you the antidote Slughorn keeps on his desk and then you woke up!" If anything, Maura looked even more frightened than me. "Are you okay?"

I tried not to look at the snake as I answered her. "I'm f-fine, I think. I just had this t-t-terrible nightmare. It-it was so real, I couldn't think, I was so scared."

"That was probably the venom. Professor Slughorn says the venom of this particular breed of cobra has certain hallucinogenic effects." She seemed to calm down when she was reciting what Slughorn had taught us in class. "I've given you the antidote, but you should probably see Madam Pomfrey. The poison is fast-acting in large doses, so you need medical attention as soon as possible." 

She tried dragging me out of the dungeon, but the combined weight of myself and snake was too much for her. Furthermore, the snake seemed to have been magically attached to the dungeon wall so that neither it nor I could escape.

"Listen, Maura-"

"I could try a levitation spell to lift you," she ignored me, "I've seen my mother use a similar spell once when a houseguest…fainted."

"_Maura_-"

Maura made a few attempts at casting a spell, to no avail. She was becoming flustered, turning the already garbled incantation into pure gibberish. She tried once more, and upon uttering this last charm, a beam of light shot out of her wand and hit her in the face. "Ow," she whimpered, covering a hand over her bloody nose. "Okay, let me try one more time-"

"Maura, just shut up for one second!" I hadn't meant to yell that loud, but Maura gave me no other choice. "Maura, I'll be fine," I told her, "Please don't hurt yourself for me. Anyways, we've got more important things to worry about. Professor Aurelian has kidnapped James Potter and stole a Polyjuice Potion from Slughorn, whatever that is, and you've got to tell Professor McGonagall. If you have to, get a teacher to come down and help me, but you have to save James." I knew I'd be able to handle myself for a little while longer, but James needed help as fast as he could get it.

But Maura was shaking her head. "Don't you understand, Lianne? I don't care what happens to James. You may be all heroic and selfless and brave, but I'm not. I'm not going to waste time on James Potter when I could be saving you. You're the only friend I have ever had, Lianne, and I'm not leaving you here."

I was sure the stress had made Maura lose her composure even more than I realized. "Me? _Brave_? You're talking about the girl who collapsed into a heap of tears in Potions class because she didn't want to touch a little snake." I let out a little laugh.

Maura seemed unconvinced. "You do realize that snake has been wrapped around your ankle for the past five minutes and you haven't freaked out yet."

"I was freaking out until you got here."

Maura sighed, and tried to unwrap the snake from my leg. "See? You're even modest about it. You're from _Gryffindor_, for crying out loud! You're brave and noble and loyal and I'm just an evil, cowardly Slytherin."

"Hey, not everyone from Slytherin is evil! Shouldn't you know that by now?" I asked her.

"Oh, really? All of the heroes in the Battle of Hogwarts were from Gryffindor! Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger—get off you stupid snake!" she screamed before continuing her list, "Neville Longbottom, Albus Dumbledore! All of the Death Eaters, all of You-Know-Who's followers were 

from Slytherin! None of the Slytherins stayed to fight for Hogwarts! Name one Slytherin who showed any bravery in the Battle of Hogwarts!" she challenged, certain I had no answer for her.

I had one. "Severus Snape."

"Fine," she conceded, "but Severus Snape was the only one, and—oh! It's hopeless! This snake _won't budge_! You'd have to speak Parseltongue or something to move this snake!"

"That's okay, Maura," I said, "Just go get a teacher. I'll be fine."

She sighed. "I can't, Lianne"

"Yes, you can. I'll be fine," I repeated.

"No, I mean I _can't_. I don't know where any of the teachers' rooms are. Do you?"

"No. Isn't one of the teachers supposed to be on patrol or something?" I asked her.

"Yes. Tonight it's Professor Aurelian's turn," she said.

"Of course. And I think Madame Pomfrey is in the Forbidden Forest collecting poisonous toadstools or something. Is _every_ teacher in this school taking the day off?" I cried. Then I thought of something. "Wait a minute…you said that _Parseltongue_ could get this snake off, right?"

"I don't remember," Maura said, "I guess so." I laughed in relief. Maura must have mistaken it for hysteria, for she immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" I laughed again. "Albus Potter speaks Parseltongue! And he's right in the Gryffindor common room! Go get him, Maura! I'll be fine until you get back, trust me!" At this, there was a great burst of laughter. Maura might not have been wrong in thinking I was hysterical. "It's behind the portrait of the Fat Lady in the Gryffindor Tower! The password's 'Gilded Leaf'! Hurry!" This time Maura didn't argue, just ran.

I had a sudden image of Flora Herberts laughing while she raved about the wizarding world as I leaned against the wall and laughed until I ran out of breath.

--

Maura was almost to the Gryffindor tower when she ran into Kath and Jenna. "Well," Kath said, an icy tone to her voice, "If it isn't a two-faced snake-in-the-grass. What do you want?"

Maura sighed. "I don't have time for this, ok? Lianne is in mortal danger and I have to help! And shouldn't you be in your own dormitories by now?" She started to run to the tower, but the sisters. stopped her.

"We just wanted to say hello to Lianne, our _ex_-friend," Kath informed Maura, "And shouldn't you be in your common room with all your _Slytherin_ friends?" She looked like she was about to hex Maura.

But, unlike her sister, Jenna had actually heard what Maura said, "Wait, _mortal danger_? How? Where?" she asked.

"She's being attacked by this snake in the Potions dungeons!" Maura snapped, "Now move!" Kath and Jenna shared a guilty look.

"What can we do to help?" Jenna asked.

Maura sighed, not wanting to trust the two girls who had caused her so much grief, but she knew they could help. "Find Professor McGonagall. Tell her that Professor Aurelian kidnapped James Potter to get to his father. Hurry, ok?"

"My poor, sweet James!" Kath shrieked, running to save her beloved James.

Jenna looked at Maura. "Make sure Lianne's all right, ok?" Maura nodded. Jenna turned, then stopped. "And…er…don't feed your pet snake that new Brazilian snake treat you got for Christmas, all right? It'll get really sick and die if you do. I never wanted the revenge thing to go so far. I'm sorry." She then ran off after her sister.

Maura approached to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Password?" the Lady asked imperiously.

"Gilded Leaf," Maura told her.

"You're obviously not a Gryffindor," the Fat Lady stated, staring at the green-and silver striped scarf around her neck and Slytherin emblem about Maura's cloak. "How do you know the password?"

Maura furrowed her brow, furiously thinking of a way to reach Albus. "Look, I don't have a lot of time, so _just let me in_!" Maura yelled.

"I can't do that," the Fat Lady said.

"Fine. Then just tell Albus Potter to come down here. You can do that, right?" Maura paced, trying to control her impatience.

The Fat Lady sighed. "Very well, then. _Albus! You're needed!_"

An agonizing amount of time later, Albus Potter and Rose Weasley both came to the door. "Look," Maura said quickly, "I really need you to come down and speak some Parseltongue so-"

"Whatever this is, I want no part in it. My dad never even told me where the Chamber of Secrets is, okay?" Albus said, white-faced and trembling, "I'm not going to help you get past the giant snakes in the Forbidden Forest, and I won't help you hunt for basilisk teeth. Now leave me alone!"

"I can't!" Maura shouted, tears coming to her eyes, "My friend's about to die here! Are you going to help me or not? You're not going to let her get killed, are you?"

Albus looked at Rose. "No, I'm not. Come on, let's save your friend."

_A/N: Okay, the paragraphs at the beginning of the chapter are told as if Lianne were four; that is why the wording is differently phrased. I apologize for the point-of-view change from first to third person, but it is necessary for the story to be told. Thank you for patiently waiting for this chapter!_


	15. The Aftermath

_A/N-The unofficial hiatus is officially over! I'm terribly, terribly, terribly sorry for the long wait, but I shall also have the next chapter up post haste. Again, I am very sorry._

_I would like to clear up a question one of my readers commented about. They wondered how Albus would be able to speak Parseltongue. They reasoned that Harry could only speak Parseltongue because of Voldemort's soul in his body, so neither he nor Albus would be able to speak it if Voldemort were destroyed. This is how I believe it is possible:_

_When Harry died, I believe that, since he was the only one in the 'afterlife' despite Hogwarts having gone through a deadly battle beforehand, he was not brought to the actual afterlife (because then he'd be dead and never be able to return), but into a reflection of his own soul. The wretched child he saw, then, was the fragment of the already pathetic soul of Voldemort that existed within him. However, because Voldemort killed Harry—and thus, the piece of soul—it was damaged beyond the point of affecting him. So, when Harry had kids, they inherited some of the power, but not the soul._

_Why did Dumbledore tell Harry that Voldemort's soul was completely gone from Harry, then? Well, I'm no believer in the idea of 'Evil-Lying-Scheming-Manipulating-Dumbledore', but we do know that Dumbledore sometimes fudges the truth a little in order to save Harry from any unnecessary worry. How did Dumbledore get into Harry's soul-reflection? I have no clue. He's Albus Dumbledore, we know there's a lot of super-wizard stuff he can do._

_Furthermore, in the epilogue, Harry comments that his scar has not hurt in nineteen years, which is used as proof that Voldemort is truly dead, BUT, if Harry's soul was completely Voldemort-free, then he would have no mental connection with Voldemort, and so his scar would not burn in Voldemort's presence. Quod erat demonstravit, people._

_Now that I'm through explaining that…on with the story!_

"Maura? Is that really you, or is this another hallucination?" I squinted my eyes, trying to see her more clearly, but my vision was getting blurry. I leaned forward to try to get a closer look at her face, but fell forward onto the floor.

"Lianne!" Maura cried, staring at my face, which was turning blue from the venom. "How many times did that snake bite you, anyways?"

"Way too many," I replied, trying to keep my teeth from chattering.

"We have to get you to Madam Pomfrey," Maura told me, then looked towards Albus, who was gaping with horror at the scene before him. "Albus! Are you going to help, or just stand there like a coward?"

That seemed to make him focus. He muttered something in a strangled, hissing voice, something which I hoped was an order to get off of me. The snake hissed back and soon Albus and it 

were engaged in a conversation. Eventually, the snake unwound itself from my body. It started to lunge at Albus, but was denied the chance, as Maura chopped its head off with a knife as soon as it had let go of me.

"Ugh!" she grunted as she lifted me up, "I need some help here!"

"Whoa," I murmured, "I'm getting kind of dizzy…"

Rose and Albus just stood next to her, shocked at her ruthless beheading of the snake. "Isn't Professor Slughorn going to be mad that you killed his snake?" Rose finally asked.

"Probably not, seeing as my mum could get him fired from Hogwarts," Maura replied, "And are you actually going to help me get Lianne to the hospital wing, or let her die of poison? Isn't your Mudblood mother supposed to have been good at this kind of thing, Weasley?" Then she realized what she said. "Sorry about the Mudblood crack," she apologized, not to Rose, but to me.

"S'okay," I slurred, although I hadn't been able to hear what she said over the pounding of my ears.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," Rose briskly chanted, and I felt myself being lifted into the air. As Maura guided my floating body out of the dungeon, I began to close my eyes, and soon drifted off into unconsciousness.

--

The first thing I did when I woke up was vomit a few times. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey provided me with a bucket so that I wouldn't get the bedsheets wet. As soon as I was done throwing up everything I had eaten in the past week, I looked around at my surroundings, recognizing at once the hospital wing. Maura was sitting right next to my bed, while Rose and Albus waited at the end of the room. I felt a little queasy, but otherwise fine. Still, I had to ask, "Am I dead?"

Maura looked relieved to hear my voice, "No, but we thought you might be. You were nearly in a coma when we got you here. I was afraid…I thought you might never wake up."

In spite of the look of remorse on her face, I cracked a smile. "You've been here all night, huh?"

She nodded. "Rose and Albus, too," she told me, "Even Kath and Jenna came after they talked to Professor McGonagall." She pointed over to the other end of the room.

"Kath and Jenna?" I asked, turning my head sharply to see. Sure enough, the two sisters were standing there, looking embarrassed. "Come here, guys." They glanced at each other, then walked over slowly.

"Listen, Lianne," Jenna started, "We were really awful to you, and we want to say-"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Kath cried, hugging me in apology until I thought I would explode.

"Can't—breathe—Kath—let—go!"

She released me quickly. "Sorry!"

"So, what I was going to say was," Jenna finished, rolling her eyes at Kath's interruption, "you should be friends with whoever you want to be, even if she is a Slytherin-" at this she looked at Maura "-and we really shouldn't have judged you, Maura. You've been a much better friend to Lianne than we were."

"If I were a better friend, I would've gotten her to the hospital wing sooner," Maura muttered.

"It's not your fault, Maura," I said, "I'm fine now. That's all that matters." Then, I remembered something else that did matter. "Is James all right? Did Professor Aurelian-"

"Maura told us to tell Professor McGonagall everything," Jenna said, "When she found out, she sent a party of Aurors after Aurelian."

"Did they find him? Did he escape? What happened?"

"The Aurors caught him and his accomplices. They've been sent to Azkaban. James is fine, although his ego's even more inflated than before," Albus assured me, speaking for the first time since I woke up.

"That's a relief. So, aren't we heroes or something, for stopping Aurelian? Why does everyone look so miserable?"

There was an awkward silence in the room as I asked this question. Finally, Jenna spoke up, "If Kath and I hadn't locked you in that closet, you wouldn't have been in any danger."

"And if I hadn't been so stubborn, if I had gotten a teacher or something, you would've gotten to the hospital wing sooner," Maura said, voice full of remorse.

Even Rose and Albus had something they felt guilty about. "You came to us for help because you thought we were big heroes, like our parents," Rose told me, "but we really weren't much help at all."

I sighed, exasperated. "Let me get this straight. You guys just stopped a kidnapping and saved my life…and you're feeling guilty for not doing more? That's the lamest thing I've ever heard." I thought about that for a moment. "And I guess that makes me lame, too, because I can't stop feeling guilty about being such a coward when I saw James being kidnapped."

There was another awkward silence in the room, one that wasn't relieved until Madam Pomfrey ushered my friends out the door, yelling about how visiting hours were over and that I needed to rest and recuperate.

As it turned out 'rest and recuperate' meant more vomiting and being fed disgusting amounts of anti-venom. By the time Madam Pomfrey left to check up on another patient, I needed rest and recuperation from my rest and recuperation.

Yawning, I looked over to the table at the side of my bed, and found it covered in parcels and 'get well' cards. There were about a dozen bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, too many Chocolate Frogs to count, and there was even a package from Lorna Zabini and her friends. I could tell from the stench it was filled with bubotuber pus, but it was the thought that counted.

--

When I finally was released from the hospital wing, Maura, Kath, and Jenna walked with me to the Great Hall. Jenna couldn't stop apologizing to me the entire way, while Kath couldn't stop asking if James Potter looked dreamy when he was being kidnapped.

"..And we're sorry about putting poison in Maura's snake food," Jenna said, "and the Dungbomb in your room, and we're sorry for the-"

"For the last time, Jenna," I told her, "Maura and I forgive you for the poison, and the Dungbomb, and the—by the way, how did you get that Dungbomb into the dormitory?"

"We got one of the girls in your room—I think her name was Doris—to put it in your suitcase."

"Ah."

"When James when stunned, did he get that dreamy look in his eyes, like he does when he laughs or win a Quidditch game?" Kath interrupted.

Through gritted teeth, I said to her, "For the last time, Kath, I wasn't focusing on the look in his eyes, or the way his hair blew in an imaginary wind, I was too busy being scared out of my wits by the goons who had captured him!"

I pushed open the doors to the Great Hall, and was momentarily shocked. It had been a while since I had been in the Great Hall. I was in the hospital wing for the last week, and before that, most of the students were at home for the winter break. The sheer noise of hundreds of students was enough to rattle me. But what was, perhaps, most astonishing was that many of them seemed to be looking at me.

I said goodbye to Maura, Kath, and Jenna, and walked over to the Gryffindor table, where Albus and Rose soon invited me to sit with them. People began asking me questions about what had happened the night James was kidnapped, asking if I was scared at all or how I managed to defeat the snake all by myself. I told them the truth: I was terrified, and my friends defeated the snake, not me. I told them I wasn't a hero at all, but they didn't seem to care.

I smiled to myself, and began to eat as the Great Hall was filled with voices, chattering about exams, about Quidditch, and even about me.

_A/N-I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry for the wait. I will attempt to get the next chapter up tomorrow!_


	16. Becoming Lianne

_A/N-Finally! The last chapter has been posted!_

"Can I sit here?"

I turned to look at the speaker, then smiled. "Sure, Maura. Are you guys okay with her sitting here?" I asked my roommates.

They shrugged, and made room for her.

"Thanks," she said as she sat down, "Some of the Slytherins can be a little bit competitive about the House Cup." I laughed at this, but it seemed that everyone was a little competitive about the House Cup. I could practically feel the excitement in the room.

But then, why wouldn't anyone be excited tonight? Exams were over, Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup in an amazing victory against Ravenclaw, and tomorrow the Hogwarts Express would take us home for the summer.

The Great Hall was filled with at least twice as much noise as usual. There were friends telling each other to send them letters via owl—I tried to tell my friends to call me, but only Rose and Albus knew how to work a phone—people congratulating the Gryffindor Quidditch team on their performance, a group of Ravenclaws trying to calculate how many House points were in each hourglass, and of course the teachers added to the chaos by yelling at us all to quiet down.

At last, Professor McGonagall stood up to quiet the students herself. "Attention, students! The winner of the House Cup is about to be announced!" Immediately the noise died down, and everyone was listening intently.

Maura tapped me on the shoulder. She whispered softly, "I hope your house wins. You deserve it."

"Thanks," I replied, equally softly. I looked over to the Hufflepuff table to see Kath giving me a thumbs-up. As I turned towards the Ravenclaw's, I was welcomed by the sight of Jenna mouthing 'Good luck'.

Finally, I faced my fellow Gryffindors and caught sight of myself in the reflection of a silver goblet. I stared at myself, noticing every detail. I had a pimple on my forehead that contrasted greatly with my pale skin. My hair was dull and frizzy, and I noticed that my teeth had begun to grow crooked. But my crooked teeth were revealed by a genuine smile, and my noticeable zit was positioned above eyes that were crinkled with happiness.

I had friends who knew my hair was always a mess, and that I tended to break out into acne often, and that I would never be able to afford designer clothes, but still thought I was cool. All the things about myself that I used to feel ashamed of didn't bother me anymore. I found the confidence I needed to stand up to bullies instead of letting them step all over me. And this knowledge made me happier than I had ever been in my entire life.

Not even the sound of the Slytherins cheering was enough to dampen my spirits. Neither were the sights of the green banners dropping down from the ceiling and the Slytherin colors appearing throughout the Great Hall, or the sight Professor Slughorn lifting up the House Cup as his House cheered with fervor.

I noticed that while the Slytherins were ecstatic, the rest of the Great Hall was less excited. Some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs clapped halfheartedly, the Gryffindors weren't even bothering to feign congratulation. Maura sighed and murmured an apology to my roommates, who had begun glaring at her.

I wasn't happy that the Slytherins had won the House Cup either, but for some reason I stood up and applauded loudly for my worst enemies. Even though the Slytherins had created an awful din with their cheering, my claps seemed to echo across the Hall as if the rest of the room were completely silent. Then someone else began to clap with me, and soon the entire Great Hall was genuinely cheering for the Slytherins. And somehow, it felt good.

Now, in the name of being accurate, I must clarify one tiny detail: everything you've just read is the truth. This is how I discovered I was a witch, how I made wonderful friends, how I was hailed as a hero, and how I became Lianne.

_A/N-And this concludes 'Mudbloods and Slytherin Snobs'. If you liked what you've read, please read this next week (unless I get delayed __**again**__) for a sneak peek of the sequel!_


	17. Sneak Peek

_A/N-This is a sneak peek into the sequel of 'Mudbloods and Slytherin Snobs'. It is only a rough draft at this point, but it's a general view of what the sequel will be like._

It was finally summertime. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was one of those days that made a person want to jog around the block, or swim in the pool, or something of that nature. Unfortunately, I only got to experience this wonderful day through the window at my summer school class.

I hated having to go to summer school. I didn't need to go to summer school. I wasn't a bad student. In fact, I had recently gotten my exam scores back, and I did I lot better than I had expected. But my mother still forced me to spend my summer in this classroom, making me learn an entire year of classes in a matter of weeks. When the teacher finally dismissed us, I felt utterly miserable because I didn't know anything she taught us.

As I picked up my bookbag, a voice sneered, "Hey, Janet," from behind me.

I turned around and faced my former nemesis. "Hi, Stacey." I was actually more surprised than nervous to see Stacey here. When I went to school with her, I was under the impression that she did all right academically. Apparently she wasn't as smart as she liked to pretend.

"I didn't see you at school last year," Stacey said, acting concerned, "Why is that?"

"My parents decided to homeschool me," I lied.

"Really?" Stacey asked, "Because I didn't think you were at your house at all last year."

"That's because I was homeschooled…by my aunt. Out of state," I tried to craft a convincing deception.

Stacey's friend Kayla—I was surprised to see her in summer school, too; she liked to act like a know-it-all constantly—spoke up, "I heard she got sent to boot camp because she was so ugly." The two laughed.

Last year, a comment like that would have made me burst into tears. But I was different now. "That doesn't even make sense," I retorted.

Stacey ignored me. "Well, _I_ heard she got sent to a 'special school' because she was so stupid," she said, while Kayla giggled.

"Whatever," I shrugged as I walked out the door. I didn't really have a comeback for that, because Hogwarts was indeed a special school—but not in the way they thought. "Oh, and by the way, Stacey," I told her, facing her, "Call me 'Lianne'." I spun around triumphantly.

The smile was wiped off my face when Stacey replied, "Whatever you say, _Janet_," and collapsed into giggles. It wasn't the most dramatic exit I'd ever made.

_A/N-And that's the sneak peek into the sequel! I hope you all read it (p.s. I need title suggestions, so if you want to submit a possible title I will be sure to give you credit!)_


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